Sickle hemoglobin structure

Dover GJ, Brusilow S, Charache S (1994) Induction of fetal hemoglobin production in subjects with sickle cell anemia by oral sodium phenylbutyrate. Blood 84 339-343 El Kharroubi A, Martin MA (1996) cis-acting sequences located downstream of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 promoter affect its chromatin structure and transcriptional activity. Mol Cell Biol 16 2958-2966... 

In the majority of patients with sickle cell disease, anemia is not the major problem the anemia is generally well compensated even though such individuals have a chronically low hematocrit (20-30%), a low serum hemoglobin level (7-10 g/dL), and an elevated reticulocyte count. Instead, the primary problem is that deoxygenated HbS chains form polymeric structures that dramatically change erythrocyte shape, reduce deformability, and elicit membrane permeability changes that further promote hemoglobin polymerization. Abnormal erythrocytes... 

Hemoglobinopathies have traditionally been defined as a family of dis orders caused by production of a structurally abnormal hemoglobin molecule, synthesis of insufficient quantities of normal hemoglobin, or, rarely, both. Sickle-cell anemia (HbS), hemoglobin C disease (HbC), and the thalassemia syndromes are representative hemoglobinopathies that can have severe clinical consequences. The first two conditions result from production of hemoglobin with an altered amino acid sequence, whereas the thalassemias are caused by decreased produc tion of normal hemoglobin. 

Primary structure is the amino / ) acid sequence, which controls the shape of the protein and the role the protein serves in the body. Primary Structure Primary structure is the most fundamental of the four structural levels because it is the protein s amino acid sequence that determines its overall shape and function. So crucial is primary structure to function that the change of only one amino acid out of several hundred can drastically alter biological properties. The disease sickle-cell anemia, for example, is caused by a genetic defect in blood hemoglobin whereby valine is substituted for glutamic add at only one position in a chain of 146 amino acids. 

Reported applications of DMA include the cross-linking of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (Hartman and Wold, 1967), treatment of erythrocyte membranes to reduce the effects of sickle cell anemia (Waterman et al., 1975), conjugation and analysis of the outer membrane proteins of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Newhall et al., 1980), protein structural studies of bovine a-crystalline (Siezen et al., 1980), cross-linking of hemoglobin S (Pennathur-Das et al., 1982), and forming S-carbomethoxy-valeramidine during hydrolysis of DMA (Mentzer et al., 1982). 

Primary Structure of Proteins The primary structure of a protein is the sequence of amino acids in the peptide chain. The primary structure is immensely important, because it is the sequence of amino acids that determines the higher levels of protein structure and, consequently, the function of the protein. Small changes in the primary structure can cause a protein to be completely nonfunctional. For example, sickle cell anemia is caused by the substitution of a single amino acid in the hemoglobin chain. 

The diseases and disorders chosen for discussion and the order of presentation parallel subject matter taught in most first-year medical biochemistry. Chapters in the first part of the book, Nucleic Acids and Protein Structure, illustrate the relationships of protein structure and function with respect to collagen (Osteogenesis Imperfecta) and hemoglobin (Sickle Cell Anemia). The chapters Fragile X Syndrome and Hereditary Spherocytosis discuss key aspects of DNA and protein structure and their respective role in chromosomal and cytoskeletal structure. The chapter cardiac troponin and myocardial infarction provides an up-to-date demonstration of the usefulness of both structural proteins and enzymes as markers of cardiovascular disease, while the chapter cx Anti trypsin Deficiency discusses the important role of endogenous enzyme inhibitors. 

---