Genetic polymorphisms of orosomucoid ORM1 and ORM2 in a Japanese population: occurrence of new ORM1 alleles

Genetic polymorphisms of orosomucoid ORM1 and ORM2 in a Japanese population from northern Japan were investigated using isoelectric focusing (IEF) in ultrathin layer polyacrylamide gels containing Triton X-100 and immunofixation. Nine ORM1 phenotypes which are determined by four common and one rare alleles were observed. Two of the identified alleles at this locus were considered to be new. The ORM2 pattern was classified into 14 phenotypes as products of one common and two variant alleles. The estimated allele frequencies were ORM1*1 = 0.668, ORM1*2 = 0.170, ORM1*2.1 = 0.136, ORM1*5.2 = 0.022 and ORM1*7 = 0.004; ORM2*1 = 0.972, ORM2*3 = 0.006 and ORM2*6 = 0.022.