Difference in Gross Structure of Two Electrophoretically Identical ‘Minor’ Hæmoglobin Components

Abstract

DURING a search for the possible presence of abnormal hæmoglobin types in the white population of the south-eastern area of the United States, minor hæmoglobin variants were discovered in the blood of two healthy adult males, both being admitted to the VA Hospital, Augusta, Georgia, for reasons not related to any hæmatological abnormality. In paper electrophoresis at pH 8.6 both components showed an electrophoretic mobility slightly faster than hæmoglobin-S (Hb-S), while in starch-gel electrophoresis^1,2 at pH 8.0 they were indistinguishable from Hb-S. The amounts present were considerably less than usually found in the blood of an abnormal hæmoglobin trait carrier; in both cases the per cent abnormal component was estimated between 10 and 15 per cent.