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The gamma-chain heterogeneity of haemoglobin F in German infants
A Pekrun1, M Scharnetzky, M Gahr
1Universitäts-Kinderklinik, Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany.
Abstract:
gamma-chain heterogeneity of haemoglobin F was studied in German full-term and preterm infants up to 12 months old. The A gamma T-gene frequency calculated was about 19%. In most cases with A gamma I-/A gamma T-chain heterogeneity A gamma I-chains predominated over A gamma T-chains. There was no difference between infants with or without the A gamma T-chain concerning haemoglobin F-concentration, F-cell percentage or G gamma-chain percentage. The G gamma-chains accounted for 69.2% +/- 3.3% (SD) of the total gamma-chains in full-term newborn infants with a decrease to 42.5% +/- 6.5% during the first 6 months. Comparison of the G gamma-chain decrease in preterm and in full-term newborn infants suggests a more pronounced decrease during extrauterine life than during the intrauterine course.