title: The cis-AB blood group phenotype: fundamental lessons in glycobiology.
abstract: The cis-AB phenotype can raise questions about an apparently paradoxical inheritance of the ABO blood group, such as the birth of an O child from an AB mother. These subtype ABO alleles confer the ability to create both A and B antigens with a single enzyme. A variety of different cis-AB enzymes have been reported and many feature an interchange of amino acids between the normal A enzyme sequence and its B counterpart, rendering the mutant enzyme capable of creating both antigens. The resulting red blood cells do not usually express A or B antigen at the same level that would be expected on common group A(1) or B red blood cells, and the results of investigations into the kinetics of the cis-AB enzyme more clearly predict the extent of antigen expression. By correctly identifying the cis-AB phenotype, the blood bank can be of assistance to a clinician faced with a patient with what appears to be a genetically impossible ABO blood group.
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. myazer@itxm.org
authors.forename: Mark H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Yazer
authors.forename: Martin L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.forename: Monica M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Palcic
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D001788:Blood Grouping and Crossmatching; D005700:Galactosyltransferases; D006801:Humans; D040582:Inheritance Patterns; D017350:N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D005700:Galactosyltransferases; D017350:N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases; C003742:UDPgalactosamine-galactose acetylgalactosaminyltransferase; C023155:blood-group-substance alpha-D-galactosyltransferase