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Previous Volume 328:129-131 January 14, 1993 Number 2 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Humans, other primates, and ruminants benefit from having a structurally and functionally distinct hemoglobin during fetal development. In human fetal hemoglobin (₂()₂), the () subunit differs from the subunit of adult hemoglobin A (₂₂) in 39 of its 146 amino acids. Consequently, fetal red cells have a relatively high affinity for oxygen, thereby facilitating the transport of oxygen across the placenta. Shortly before birth, the -globin gene is turned on with torrential force, whereas ()-globin-gene expression is reduced to a mere trickle. As a result, in normal persons over six months of age, hemoglobin . . . [Full Text of this Article]

References

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