title: Beta-globin gene cluster haplotypes and alpha-thalassemia in sickle cell disease patients from Trinidad.
abstract: In this study, we have determined the frequency of beta(S) haplotypes in 163 sickle cell disease patients from Trinidad. The alpha(3.7) globin gene deletion status was also studied with an observed gene frequency of 0.17. Among the 283 beta(S) chromosomes analyzed, the Benin haplotype was the most prevalent (61.8%) followed by Bantu (17.3%), Senegal (8.5%), Cameroon (3.5%), and Arab-Indian (3.2%), while 5.7% of them were atypical. This beta(S) haplotypes distribution differed from those previously described in other Caribbean islands (Jamaica, Guadeloupe, and Cuba), in agreement with the known involvement of the major colonial powers (Spain, France, and Great Britain) in the slave trade in Trinidad and documented an Indian origin of the beta(S) gene.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medical Sciences, Unit of Pathology and Microbiology, St. Augustine, Trinidad, West Indies.
authors.forename: Altheia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jones-Lecointe
authors.forename: Erskine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romana
authors.forename: Marie-Georges
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Waveney P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saint-Martin
authors.forename: Lisiane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kéclard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005914:Globins / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation; D014300:Trinidad and Tobago / Q000453:epidemiology; D017085:alpha-Thalassemia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D005914:Globins