Hemoglobin C (Hb C) originated in the west of Africa and is detected by alkaline electrophoresis by slow migration in cellulose acetate. It consists of a mutation of the beta globin gene in codon 6 (GAG-AAG), resulting in a substitution of glutamic acid, the sixth amino acid of the beta string of the human hemoglobin, for lysine. High performance chromatography (HPLC) separates the C and A2 fractions completely, allowing the characterization of the presence of interactions with thalassemia beta. This entity (Hb CC) is considered benign in respect to sickle cell disease, as sickle cells are not part of its physiopathology. The rarity of the diagnosis of homozygous C and beta thalassemia in patients with hemoglobinopathies showed the necessity of studying clinical and hematologic aspects of the cases of this mutation in homozygosis carriers and the interaction with beta thalassemia in the anemias clinic of the Regional Blood Center in Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil.
Hemoglobin disorders; hemoglobin C; thalassemia beta
