Publication: Rapid differentiation of five common α-thalassemia genotypes by polymerase chain reaction
Issued Date
2001-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
00222143
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-0035068071
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Mahidol University
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SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine. Vol.137, No.4 (2001), 290-295
Suggested Citation
Delia C. Tang, Suthat Fucharoen, Ivan Ding, Griffin P. Rodgers Rapid differentiation of five common α-thalassemia genotypes by polymerase chain reaction. Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine. Vol.137, No.4 (2001), 290-295. doi:10.1067/mlc.2001.113947 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/26885
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Title
Rapid differentiation of five common α-thalassemia genotypes by polymerase chain reaction
Abstract
The α-thalassemias are common genetic disorders that arise from reduced synthesis of the α-globin chains. At present, large-scale carrier screening and clinically valuable antenatal detection programs have not been established for the congenital disorder α-thalassemia (α-thal). We have developed a simple nonradioactive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach that can detect and differentiate several common α-globin gene deletional α-thals regardless of the break points. When three primer sets wereused - two gene-specific sets for the α1- and α2-globin genes and one set for the β-actin gene (serving as an internal control) - PCR products from genomic DNA were simultaneously amplified and analyzed after coamplification and gel electrophoresis. The number of α-globin genes present in the subjects was determined by the intensity of α1and α2bands normalized with that of β-actin when using densitometry. Our results demonstrate that five common genotypes of deletional α-thal are differentiated by the ratios of α1/β-actin and α2/β-actin. We also examined the feasibility of coupling this allele-specific amplification to a color-complementary assay. This easy and reproducible PCR assay is suitable for identifying α-thal carriers in screenings of large populations and improving genetic counseling.