Haptoglobin (Hp) is a blood plasma protein that functions to bind free Hemoglobin that has been released from erythrocytes, thereby inhibiting its oxidative activity. During this process, Haptoglobin sequesters the iron within Hemoglobin, preventing iron-utilizing bacteria from benefitting from hemolysis. This function suggests that Haptoglobin concentrations may increase in response to inflammation. The resulting Haptoglobin-Hemoglobin complex is then removed by the reticulo-endothelial system. Due to cleavage of a common precursor protein during protein synthesis, Haptoglobin consists of two (alpha) and two (beta) chains, connected by disulfide bridges.