Genetic variants in the G gamma-globin promoter modulate fetal hemoglobin expression in the Colombian population

Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is a determining factor for the development of sickle cell anemia. High HbF levels lower the intensity of symptoms of this disease. HbF levels can vary in patients with sickle cell anemia and individuals without the disease. The purpose of this study was to identify the geneti...

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Autores:
Fong, Cristian
Mendoza, Yesica
Barreto, Guillermo
Tipo de recurso:
Article of investigation
Fecha de publicación:
2020
Institución:
Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia
Repositorio:
Repositorio UCC
Idioma:
OAI Identifier:
oai:repository.ucc.edu.co:20.500.12494/32912
Acceso en línea:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1678-4685-GMB-2019-0076
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12494/32912
Palabra clave:
Sickle cell anemia
Fetal hemoglobin
Gamma globin
Regulation of gene expression
Colombia
Rights
openAccess
License
Atribución
Description
Summary:Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is a determining factor for the development of sickle cell anemia. High HbF levels lower the intensity of symptoms of this disease. HbF levels can vary in patients with sickle cell anemia and individuals without the disease. The purpose of this study was to identify the genetic variants in the G gamma-globin gene promoter that can modulate HbF expression in patients with sickle cell anemia and healthy individuals from Colombia. In total, 413 bp of the G gamma-globin gene promoter were sequenced in 60 patients with sickle cell anemia and 113 healthy individuals. The allelic and genotype frequencies of the identified variants were compared between individuals with low and high HbF for both patients and healthy individuals. In total, we identified 15 variants in both groups, only three of which were shared between patients and healthy individuals. In healthy individuals, sites -16 and -309 (rs112479156) exhibited differences in allele frequencies. The mutant allele of -16 lowered the production of HbF, whereas the mutant allele of -309 increased its production. These results reveal the presence of different mechanisms of HbF regulation between patients with sickle cell and healthy individuals.