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American Journal of Human Genetics logoLink to American Journal of Human Genetics
. 1980 Jan;32(1):79–87.

Properties of fetal and adult red blood cell arginase: a possible prenatal diagnostic test for arginase deficiency.

E B Spector, M Kiernan, B Bernard, S D Cederbaum
PMCID: PMC1685933  PMID: 7361766

Abstract

Prenatal diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism has been possible only if the enzyme affected is expressed in amniotic fluid cells grown in culture. Arginase is essentially undetectable in normal human fibroblasts, amniotic fluid, and amniotic fluid cells but is present in high amounts in red blood cells. It is absent in the red blood cells of patients with liver arginase deficiency. The properties of the enzyme in the red cells of healthy children and adults were compared to those of the enzyme obtained from cord blood red cells of 13--20-week fetuses obtained at hysterotomy. The activities, heavy metal requirements, heat stability, pH optimum, kinetic properties, and reaction with anti-arginase antibody were examined. Both enzyme species were either identical or substantially similar by all criteria. The adult and fetal enzymes are, therefore, probably determined by the same structural gene. Fetal red cells obtained during amniocentesis and amnioscopy should then be a suitable tissue to use to make the prenatal diagnosis of arginase deficiency.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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