[Genetic polymorphism of the alpha chain of spectrin]

On 80 black or white subjects, spectrin subunits were purified by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and subjected to limited alpha-chymotryptic digestion according to the Cleveland method. A genetic polymorphism exists in spectrin alpha chain and is not associated with a membranous disease. Up to now, this variant has only been detected in the black population.