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. 1981 Jul;78(7):4218–4221. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.7.4218

A nucleotide change at a splice junction in the human beta-globin gene is associated with beta 0-thalassemia.

M Baird, C Driscoll, H Schreiner, G V Sciarratta, G Sansone, G Niazi, F Ramirez, A Bank
PMCID: PMC319760  PMID: 6270663

Abstract

beta 0-Thalassemia is a heterogeneous group of disorders associated with absence of beta-globin. In a survey of DNAs from patients with beta 0-thalassemia of diverse ethnic origins, a change at the splice junction at the 5' end of the large intervening sequence (IVS 2) of the human beta-globin gene has been found in one patient of Italian and another two of Iranian ethnic origins. The enzyme Hph I recognizes a change at this site and generates a large-than-normal fragment of DNA, which hybridizes specifically to a beta-globin IVS 2 probe. No other changes in beta-globin gene DNA structure or organization are detectable by extensive restriction endonuclease analysis. The enzyme HinfI which recognizes a sequence beginning three nucleotides from the 5' end of the IVS 2 splice junction, produces normal fragments and localizes the defect to a G-G-T sequence at the 5'-end IVS 2 splice junction. This sequence is known to be remarkably conserved in all globin genes from many species and in most other genes examined to date. Thus, in at least some beta 0-thalassemia patients, the beta 0-thalassemia defect is associated with a nucleotide change at a splice junction. These patients provide unique examples of naturally occurring defects in splice junctions of eukaryotic genes associated with absence of specific gene function.

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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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