2 NEW HUMAN HEMOGLOBIN-VARIANTS CAUSED BY UNUSUAL MUTATIONAL EVENTS - HB-ZAIRE CONTAINS A 5 RESIDUE REPETITION WITHIN THE ALPHA-CHAIN AND HB-DUINO HAS 2 RESIDUES SUBSTITUTED IN THE BETA-CHAIN

With rare exceptions, the more than 600 human hemoglobin variants described are caused by a single point mutation. Other abnormal features. such as unequal crossing-over, frameshift mutagenesis or double mutations in the same polypeptide chain, have seldom been encountered. We report two new variants caused by such rare mutational events. Hb Zaire [alpha-116(GH4)-His-Leu-Pro-Ala-Glu-117 (GH5)] is the second example in which a short amino acid sequence is inserted within the alpha-chain. This abnormal hemoglobin results from a tandem repetition of 5 amino-acid residues, from sequence 112 through 116, at the end of the GH corner. Hb Duino is an unstable hemoglobin. It presents within the same beta-chain, the association of two rare point mutations; these substitutions are those found in Hb Newcastle [beta-92(F8)His-->Pro] and in Hb Camperdown [beta-104(G6)Arg-->Ser]. Family studies demonstrated that the Hb Newcastle abnormality was a de novo mutation of a gene already carrying the Hb Camperdown substitution.