Hemoglobin Parchman: double crossover within a single human gene.

Structural analysis of a new variant hemoglobin revealed tryptic peptides with the amino acid composition of normal delta-globin, except for two internal peptides, which had the compositions of normal beta-globin. The most likely explanation for these findings is that a double, nonhomologous crossover between the delta-and beta-globin genes had occurred.

Hemoglobin Mississippi (beta 44ser----cys). Studies of the thalassemic phenotype in a mixed heterozygote with beta +-thalassemia.

Hemoglobin Mississippi (HbMS: beta 44ser----cys) has anomalous properties that include disulfide linkages with normal beta-, delta-, gamma-, and alpha-chains, and the formation of high molecular weight multimers. While heterozygotes for HbMS are clinically and hematologically normal and carriers of the beta +-thalassemia gene in our family had mild microcytic anemia, the proband with HbMS-beta +-thalassemia had a hemoglobin level of 7 g/dl, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of 68 fl, reticulocytes of 2-6%, HbF of 18%, marked anisocytosis and poikilocytosis, and splenomegaly, all features of thalassemia intermedia. With oxidant stress, her erythrocytes developed multiple dispersed Heinz bodies, but HbMS was only mildly unstable. HbMS was susceptible to proteolytic degradation in the presence of ATP. The unexpectedly severe clinical findings in HbMS-beta +-thalassemia may result from the proteolytic digestion of HbMS, as well as the excessive alpha-chains characteristic of beta +-thalassemia, which combined provide the increment of cellular damage that results in the phenotype of thalassemia intermedia.

Effects of urban density on carbon dioxide exchanges: Observations of dense urban, suburban and woodland areas of southern England.

Anthropogenic and biogenic controls on the surface-atmosphere exchange of CO2 are explored for three different environments. Similarities are seen between suburban and woodland sites during summer, when photosynthesis and respiration determine the diurnal pattern of the CO2 flux. In winter, emissions from human activities dominate urban and suburban fluxes; building emissions increase during cold weather, while traffic is a major component of CO2 emissions all year round. Observed CO2 fluxes reflect diurnal traffic patterns (busy throughout the day (urban); rush-hour peaks (suburban)) and vary between working days and non-working days, except at the woodland site. Suburban vegetation offsets some anthropogenic emissions, but 24-h CO2 fluxes are usually positive even during summer. Observations are compared to estimated emissions from simple models and inventories. Annual CO2 exchanges are significantly different between sites, demonstrating the impacts of increasing urban density (and decreasing vegetation fraction) on the CO2 flux to the atmosphere.

Hb Mississippi [beta 44(CD3)Ser----Arg]: a new variant with anomalous properties.

Hb Mississippi was discovered in a 6-year-old Chinese girl with chronic anemia and thalassemia intermedia. Family studies revealed that she had inherited the Hb Mississippi from her father as well as inheriting a gene for beta+-thalassemia from her mother. Electrophoretic analyses of the hemolysate of the father of the father and the proband on polyacrylamide gels at pH 8.6 showed that the abnormal hemoglobin had three distinct mobilities. A similar pattern was also observed by isoelectricfocusing. In addition, multiple abnormal peaks were observed by high performance liquid chromatographic hemoglobin separations as well as high performance liquid chromatographic globin chain separation. Structural analysis of the abnormal hemoglobin demonstrated a single abnormality; the substitution of serine to cysteine at position 44 (CD3) of the beta-globin chain. Since CD3 is on the surface of the beta-globin chain, it was thought that polymerization of the abnormal hemoglobin by disulfide linkages might have been responsible for the anomalous behavior on electrophoresis and high performance liquid chromatography. Gel filtration chromatography on G-200 Sephadex confirmed this supposition and demonstrated that the abnormal globin chain polymerized with itself as well as with other globin chains.

beta-Thalassemia present in cis to a new beta-chain structural variant, Hb Vicksburg [beta 75 (E19)Leu leads to 0].

Hemoglobin Vicksburg was discovered in a 6-year-old Black boy who had been anemic since infancy. Examination of his hemolysate revealed 87.5% Hb F, 2.4% Hb A2, and 7.6% Hb Vicksburg, which had the electrophoretic and chromatographic properties of Hb A. Structural analysis of Hb Vicksburg demonstrated a deletion of leucine at beta 75(E19), a new variant. Hb Vicksburg was neither unstable nor subject to posttranslational degradation. The alpha/non-alpha biosynthetic ratio was 2.6. Because the proband appeared to be a mixed heterozygote for Hb Vicksburg and beta 0-thalassemia, Hb Vicksburg should have comprised the major portion of the hemolysate. Thus, Hb Vicksburg was synthesized at a rate considerably lower than would be expected on the basis of gene dosage. There was no reason to suspect abnormal translation of beta Vicksburg mRNA; in individuals with Hb St. Antoine (beta 74 and beta 75 deleted), the abnormal hemoglobin comprised 25% of the hemolysate in the simple heterozygote yet was unstable. Deletion of beta 75, therefore, would not in itself appear to lead to diminished synthesis. There was a profound deficit of beta Vicksburg mRNA when measured by liquid hybridization analysis with beta cDNA. The most plausible explanation for the low output of Hb Vicksburg is that a mutation for beta +-thalassemia is present in cis to the structural mutation.