A family demonstrating inheritance of the Leach phenotype: a Gerbich-negative phenotype associated with elliptocytosis.

The proposita of a Canadian family and 2 of her sibs have the rare Leach phenotype and provide the first evidence that the Leach phenotype is an inherited condition. Their red cells are Ge: -2, -3 and fail to react, by the antiglobulin test, with the monoclonal antibodies GERO, BRIC 4 and BRIC 10. The minor sialoglycoproteins beta, beta 1 and gamma are apparently absent from their red cell membranes. A proportion of their red cells are elliptocytes indicating that beta and/or beta 1 and/or gamma have a function in maintaining normal red cell shape.