The Effect of Ferritin Level and Gene Expression of β-globin Promoter with β-thalassemia Patients in Al-Qadisiyah Governorate, Iraq

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The genetic condition β-thalassemia causes a deficit in the β-globin chain. Goblins are produced under the supervision of at least nine different genes. Thalassemia can be distinguished from other disorders by changes in these genes, which can lead to issues with hemoglobin synthesis. A typical side effect of thalassemia syndromes is iron overload, which raises the risk of mortality and can cause organ damage. Blood ferritin levels as well as total iron of body reserves have a positive correlation when there is no inflammation. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the ferritin level of an Iraqi patient and the relationship between β-thalassemia and gene expression of β-globin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case–control study included 60 samples with mean age (17.76 ± 0.88; 28 males and 32 females) which had been collected from patients who were diagnosed with β-thalassemia and 60 samples with mean age (22.7 ± 0.75; 29 males, 31 females) which were collected from apparently healthy individuals as a control group (CG). The procedure’s outcome is monitored using polymerase chain reaction and the Fluorecare instrument. RESULTS: Ferritin levels in thalassemia patients were higher than in CG patients. The β-globin expression in the thalassemia group was significantly lower than in the CG. The discovery of two essential sequences thymine-adenine-thymine-adenine and cytosine-adenine-thymine-adenine in the β-gene promoter that are crucial in the start of transcription can account for this downregulation. Changes made to these sequences decreased the affinity of transcription factors, which in turn restricted the transcription of the messenger ribonucleic acid. Examples of these transcription factors are erythroid Kruppel-like factor and specificity protein 1. CONCLUSION: Ferritin can be a useful indicator of severe iron overload. The results showed that the level of expression of β-globin was dramatically downregulated within the thalassemia group as compared with the CG future prospective of this study.