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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1976 Oct;73(10):3633–3636. doi: 10.1073/pnas.73.10.3633

Trimodality in the proportion of hemoglobin G Philadelphia in heterozygotes: evidence for heterogeneity in the number of human alpha chain loci.

R M Baine, D L Rucknagel, P A Dublin Jr, J G Adams 3rd
PMCID: PMC431172  PMID: 1068476

Abstract

The extent of variability in the number of human hemoglobin (Hb) alpha chain loci has not yet been conclusively determined. There is evidence that in some populations individuals may possess two alpha-chain loci, while in other populations only one locus is present. Electrophoresis of peripheral blood from 53 heterozygotes for Hb G Philadelphia (alpha 68 Asn leads to Lys) revealed that the proportion of Hb G is trimodally distributed, with modes at approximately 20, 30, and 40% Hb G. Familial, hematologic, and statistical studies suggest that hte proportion of Hb G is not random but is genetically controlled and inversely correlated with mean cell volume. Two alternative genetic models are proposed to explain these findings: one assums alpha-thalassemia, while the other postulates variability in the number of alpha-chain loci in the American Black population. Biosynthetic studies of blood from 15 subjects revealed balanced synthesis of alpha and beta globin chains in heterozygotes from all three classes, strongly supporting variable gene dosage rather than alpha-thalassemia as the mechanism underlying the observed trimodality in the proportion of Hb G. Incompatibilities between out results and current concepts of alpha-thalassemia are discussed in the context of differences between Black compared with Oriental and Italian forms of Hb H disease.

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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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