Increased levels of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) can ameliorate the clinical course of inherited disorders of beta-globin gene expression, such as beta thalassemia and sickle cell anemia. In a group of disorders called hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH), expression of the gamma-globin gene of HbF persists at high levels in adult erythroid cells. Molecular studies of the HPFH syndromes have identified several important regulatory elements for the normal pattern of gamma-globin gene expression. Deletion as well as nondeletion types of HPFH have been identified. The nondeletion types of HPFH are characterized by the presence of point mutations, in the promoter region of one or another gamma-globin gene, that are thought to alter interactions between various transcription factors and the promoter. The deletion types of HPFH are thought to deregulate the normal developmental pattern of gamma-globin gene expression due to the juxtaposition of normally distant cis-acting factors into the vicinity of the gamma genes. These findings have provided us with a more sophisticated understanding of the molecular basis for the persistent gamma-gene expression in these syndromes and point to certain strategies for potential future attempts at gene therapy for beta-globin gene disorders.

Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is the most common inherited haemolytic anaemia in Northern Europeans. The primary molecular defects reside in the red blood cell (RBC) membrane, particularly in proteins that link the membrane skeleton to the overlying lipid bilayer and its integral membrane constituents. Ankyrin-1 is the predominant linker molecule. It attaches spectrin, the major skeletal protein, to the cytoplasmic domain of band 3, the RBC anion exchanger. Two-thirds of patients with HS have combined spectrin and ankyrin-1 deficiency; deficiency of band 3 occurs in about 15 to 20% (ref.1). These data suggest that ankyrin-1 or band 3 defects may be common in HS. To test this we screened all 42 coding exons plus the 5' untranslated/promoter region of ankyrin-1 and the 19 coding exons of band 3 in 46 HS families. Twelve ankyrin-1 mutations and five band 3 mutations were identified. Missense mutations and a mutation in the putative ankyrin-1 promoter were common in recessive HS. In contrast, ankyrin-1 and band 3 frameshift and nonsense null mutations prevailed in dominant HS. Increased accumulation of the normal protein product partially compensated for the ankyrin-1 or band 3 defects in some of these null mutations. Our findings indicate that ankyrin-1 mutations are a major cause of dominant and recessive HS (approximately 35 to 65%), that band 3 mutations are less common (approximately 15 to 25%), and that the severity of HS is modified by factors other than the primary gene defect.

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Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is one of the most common hereditary haemolytic anaemias. HS red cells from both autosound dominant and recessive variants are spectrin-deficient, which correlates with the severity of the disease. Some patients with recessive HS have a mutation in the spectrin alpha-2 domain (S.L.M. et al., unpublished observations), and a few dominant HS patients have an unstable beta-spectrin that is easily oxidized, which damages the protein 4.1 binding site and weakens spectrin-actin interactions. In most patients, however, the cause of spectrin deficiency is unknown. The alpha- and beta-spectrin loci are on chromosomes 1 and 14 respectively. The only other genetic locus for HS is SPH2, on the short arm of chromosome 8 (8p11). This does not correspond to any of the known loci of genes for red cell membrane proteins including protein 4.1 (1p36.2-p34), the anion exchange protein (AE1, band 3; 17q21-qter), glycophorin C (2q14-q21), and beta-actin (7pter-q22). Human erythrocyte ankyrin, which links beta-spectrin to the anion exchange protein, has recently been cloned. We now show that the ankyrin gene maps to chromosome 8p11.2, and that one copy is missing from DNA of two unrelated children with severe HS and heterozygous deletions of chromosome 8 (del(8)(p11-p21.1)). Affected red cells are also ankyrin-deficient. The data suggest that defects or deficiency or ankyrin are responsible for HS at the SPH2 locus.

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