title: Duffy phenotype does not influence the clinical severity of sickle cell disease.
abstract: The red blood cell Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines serves as a sink for the clearance of chemokines such as interleukin-8 (IL-8) from the circulation. We analyzed the impact of the Duffy phenotype on sickle cell disease (SCD) severity and serum IL-8 levels in 15 Duffy-positive and 36 Duffy-negative sickle cell patients. There was no difference in clinical severity between Duffy-positive and Duffy-negative sickle cell patients. In asymptomatic sickle cell patients the upward deviation of mean serum IL-8 levels was significantly greater in Duffy-negatives (n = 20) than in Duffy-positives (n = 8) (P = 0.011). However, during a vasoocclusive episode, serum IL-8 levels were similar between Duffy-negatives (n = 11) and Duffy-positives (n = 3). Although the Duffy phenotype seems to influence steady-state serum IL-8 levels, it does not seem to have an effect on SCD severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, St. Elisabeth Hospital, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Schnog
authors.forename: S O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Keli
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Pieters
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rojer
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Duits
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D004375:Duffy Blood-Group System / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D010976:Platelet Count; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012805:Sickle Cell Trait / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004375:Duffy Blood-Group System; D006454:Hemoglobins