An updated review of abnormal hemoglobins in the Turkish population

Heterozygous Beta Chain Variant Hemoglobin Pusan: A Rare Case Report in Turkish Population

The case, detected during routine thalassemia (hemoglobin variant) screening, was a 25-year-old male patient of Turkish origin. Physical examination revealed no abnormal findings. Laboratory findings did not reveal any signs of anemia (iron deficiency, B12 deficiency, etc.). However, when the hemoglobin variant report was being evaluated, it was found that besides the normal hemoglobin peaks, there was another peak that had not been defined before. The sample was sent to genetic analysis for verification with the suspicion of an unknown hemoglobin variant. According to the genetic analysis, the unknown hemoglobin variant was found to be Hemoglobin Pusan (Hb Pusan). The aim of this study is to give information about a hemoglobin variant which is rarely seen in Turkish population and to raise awareness about this hemoglobin variant. In addition, clinical and hematological findings of this disease are discussed in the case report.

Hemoglobinopathies in the Çukurova Region and Neighboring Provinces

To contribute to the creation of a mutation map of the region, we aimed to determine the mutation spectrum of thalassemias and abnormal hemoglobins (Hbs) in the Çukurova region and surrounding provinces. In this study, a total of 8135 samples from Adana, Hatay, Mersin, Konya and Kayseri provinces between 1993 and 2014 were analyzed. Complete blood cell (CBC) counts and Hb typing were carried out using automatic cell counters, cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. For the molecular analyses, genomic DNA was extracted using both manual and automated DNA extraction devices. Determination of Hb mutations were done by microarray, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) and gap-polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR) methodologies. Samples were analyzed for abnormal Hb and thalassemia mutations. Out of 8135 samples, 1382 were observed to be carrying Hb mutations. It was identified that 826 mutation carriers included abnormal Hbs with a frequency of 59.7%, 416 carriers included β-thalassemia (β-thal) mutations with a frequency of 30.7% and 136 carriers included α-thalassemia (α-thal) mutations with a frequency of 9.9%. In this study, the most frequently observed abnormal Hb in the region was Hb S [β6(A3)Glu→Val (GTG > GAG), HBB: c.20T > A], whereas the most commonly observed mutations were the IVS-I-110 (G > A) (HBB: c.93-21G > A) point mutation in β-thal and the 3.7 kb deletion in α-thal.

γA Gene Repeats Polymorphism for the Analysis of Haplotypes of Abnormal Hemoglobins

Aim of this study was to analyze γ A gene repeat polymorphism for the analysis of haplotypes of hemoglobin (Hb) variants such as Hb S, Hb D-Punjab, Hb O-Arab. Sickle cell cases had mainly Benin and Arab/Indian haplotype. We found three different haplotypes among Hb S, Hb O Arab and Hb D-Punjab cases. We named these three variants as Anatolian-1 and Anatolian-2 and Asian. Our data revealed that Hb O Arab may arise twice one from Asia and the other from Europe.