[Hemoglobin J. Broussais alpha-2 90 Lys leads to Asn beta-2A (FG2) discovered in a Martinique family. Comparison of several analytical technics].

We report a new case of hemoglobin J. Broussais, present in its heterozygote form in a seven year old child from Martinque. The structural characteristics of this abnormal hemoglobin have been compared by three methods: 1. By analytical and preparative finger-printing on silica gel thin layer plates after tryptic digestion. 2. By a programmed separation of tryptic peptides on various ion exchange resins. 3. And by automatic sequencing of the peptides obtained following CNBr cleavage and separation by gel filtration chromatography. The functional behaviour of this hemoglobin was not modified by the substitution of an Asn for a Lys residue at position 90, although its presence induced slight hematological disorders in the patient. Abnormal hemoglobins which have been identified in Martinique and Guadeloupe are reviewed.