Hb Cambridge-MA [ß144(HC1)-ß146(HC3)Lys-Tyr-His→0 (HBB c.433 A>T)]: a new high oxygen affinity variant.

A new ß hemoglobin (Hb) variant, Hb Cambridge-MA [ß144(HC1)ß146(HC3)Lys-Tyr-His→0 (AAG>TAG) (HGVS: HBB c.433 A>T] is described. The variant was characterized by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), alkaline, acid, globin chain and capillary electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing (IEF), heat and isopropanol stability, p50 analyses, intact globin mass spectrometry (MS) and DNA sequencing. The new variant shows high oxygen (O2) affinity and is associated with mild polycythemia.