Differentiation of the mRNA transcripts originating from the alpha 1- and alpha 2-globin loci in normals and alpha-thalassemics.

The alpha-globin polypeptide is encoded by two adjacent genes, alpha 1 and alpha 2. In the normal diploid state (alpha alpha/alpha alpha) all four alpha-globin genes are expressed. Loss or dysfunction of one or more of these genes leads to deficient alpha-globin production and results in alpha-thalassemia. We present a technique to differentially assess the steady-state levels of the alpha 1- and alpha-2-globin messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts and thus delineate the relative level of expression of the two alpha-globin loci in a variety of alpha-thalassemia states. Only alpha 1 mRNA was produced in the alpha-thalassemia-2 haplotype (-alpha) (one of the two alpha-globin genes deleted from chromosome 16). This confirms previous gene mapping data which demonstrate deletion of the alpha 2 gene. The triple alpha-globin gene haplotype (alpha alpha alpha) is the reciprocal of the alpha-thalassemia-2 haplotype and thus contains an extra alpha 2-globin gene. RNA from this haplotype contained a greater than normal level of alpha 2-relative to alpha 1-globin mRNA. This data implies that the extra alpha 2 gene in the triple alpha-globin haplotype is functional. We detected a relative instability of the alpha 2-globin mRNA encoding the alpha-globin structural mutant Constant Spring. This instability may contribute to the low level of expression of the alpha-Constant Spring protein. In a Chinese patient with nondeletion hemoglobin-H disease (- -/alpha alpha T) (both alpha-globin genes are present but not fully functional) a normal ratio was maintained between the levels of alpha 1- and alpha 2-globin mRNA, implying that mRNA production from both alpha-globin genes is suppressed in a balanced manner. These observations extended previous findings concerning the structural rearrangements in the deletion types of alpha-thalassemia and the pathophysiology of two nondeletion variants.