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GL Kropp, S Fucharoen and SH Embury
Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San
Francisco General Hospital 94110.
Hemoglobin (Hb) Constant Spring is an alpha-thalassemic hemoglobinopathy
that is a major cause of severe alpha-thalassemia in Southeast Asians. The
difficulty of diagnosing Hb Constant Spring using standard electrophoretic
methods has led to interest in DNA-dependent diagnostic methods. The
methods developed have had to contend with the high degree of homology of
the alpha 2-globin gene (the site of the Hb Constant Spring mutation) and
the alpha 1-globin gene. We have developed a single reaction polymerase
chain reaction-based method that uses asymmetric priming and a temperature
shift to accomplish dual ends, selective amplification of alpha 2 but not
alpha 1 DNA and discrimination of normal and Hb Constant Spring alpha 2
genes by allele- specific fluorescence polymerase chain reaction.
Advantages of this method over previous approaches include avoiding
radioisotopes, precluding the need for electrophoresis, and serving as its
own control for successful amplification. It is readily applicable to
routine diagnosis, population screening, and prenatal diagnosis.
This article has been cited by other articles:
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| Copyright © 1991 by American Society of Hematology Online ISSN: 1528-0020 | |||||||||