A new abnormal human hemoglobin: Hb prato (α231 (B12) Arg→Ser β2)

An abnormal human hemoglobin was found in a hemolysate from a 5-year-old healthy child living in Prato (Tuscany, Italy). Structural studies demonstrated a previously unreported amino acid substitution, α31 (B12) Arg → Ser (this is an α 1β1 contact). The new variant has been named Hb Prato. It was unstable in isopropanol and heat-denaturation tests, but has normal functional properties, with respect to whole blood studies. Family studies indicated that the variant had been inherited from the mother, a 39-year-old woman of Sicilian extraction. Hb Prato occurs at 20 and 28% in hemolysates from the boy and woman, respectively. © 1979