Haemoglobin-H disease due to a unique haemoglobin variant with an elongated O-chain

The clinical and genetic properties of an unusual O-chain variant of human haemoglobin are described. It constitutes less than 1 percent of the total haemoglobin in heterozygotes and, when inherited together with an O-thalassaemia gene, produces the clinical picture of haemoglobin-H disease. Preliminary structural studies indicatge that, in addition to the 141 aminoacid residues which constitute the normal O-chain, this variant has about 31 extra residues attached to the C-terminal end.(SUMMARY)