Summary
A minor haemoglobin component consisting of freeα-chains is regulary present in haemolysates of human cord and adult blood. The isolation is achieved by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A50 in Tris-HCL-KCN buffer at pH 8.63. In normal adults the amount is in the range between 0.034 and 0.090 (mean 0.061) percent, in fullterm newborns between 0.042 and 0.101 (mean 0.075) percent of the total haemoglobin mass. Freeα-chains are missing in premature infants. In inherited deficiencies ofβ-chain production the amount of freeα-chains in highly increased.
Theα-chain component isolated by preparative column chromatography had the same electrophoretic mobility as native PCMBα-chains. In hybridization experiments the component recombined with canine haemoglobin forming the hybridα 2 A β 2 Can. Mixed with haemolysates containing haemoglobin H the freeα-chains combined with the excess ofβ-chains, indicating that they are structurally normal.
The quantitative determination of freeα-chains is thought to be helpful for the detection ofβ-thalassaemia in the neonatal period and for the recognition ofα-thalassaemia states without excess ofβ-chains.
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Supported by a Grant (Kl 169/5) from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
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Kohne, E., Kleihauer, E. Free alpha chains in adult and cord blood haemolysates. Res. Exp. Med. 161, 243–250 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01851448
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01851448