Alpha-1-antitrypsin phenotypes in a group of newborn infants in Somalia.

Pi phenotype determinations were performed on umbilical cord serum specimens of 347 infants born in Mogadishu (Somalia) hospitals. Phenotyping was performed by isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gel slabs. Sera containing alpha1AT in types other than MM were also studied by crossed antigen-antibody immunoelectrophoresis on agar. The most frequently occuring Pi allele proved to be PiM. With respect to the other African populations studied so far, there was a high prevalence of the PiS and PiZ alleles. In particular, three individuals were found with the ZZ phenotype, which had not yet been observed in Africa.