1 The Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital of St Paul, St Paul; Department of Biochemistry, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon; and Dight Laboratories, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
A well but cyanotic newborn was found to have a mutant
-globin chain, leading to a functionally abnormal fetal hemoglobin. A single amino acid substitution was found in a site consistent with known adult M hemoglobins. This patient showed no clinical evidence of cyanosis at 5 weeks of age as
-chain synthesis was replaced by
-chain synthesis. A sibling born 20 months later was also cyanotic and the same mutant hemoglobin was found.
Key Words: cyanosis methemoglobin M hemoglobin mutant hemoglobin
Submitted on April 4, 1988
Accepted on July 6, 1988