DNA analysis of haemophilia A families from southern France. Experience of a hospital laboratory.

A sample of 101 individuals from 19 unrelated families from Southern France affected with haemophilia A was studied in our laboratory from 1990 to 1992. The aim of the analysis was to define the carrier status of women related to a haemophiliac, or to find an informative DNA marker for further prenatal diagnosis in obligate carriers. Three intragenic (BclT/intron 18, XbaI/intron 22, AlwNI/intron x7) and two extragenic polymorphisms (TaqI/St14, BglII/DX13) were used for this study. The tested population exhibited some original characteristics, including a lower rate of heterozygosity for the FVIII BclI polymorphism and a number of specificities for the St14 RFLP. We also compared the different methodologies available for each RFLP in a routine diagnostic service, and determined a strategy for linkage analysis in our population.