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Chr. 11 p15.4. Fetal hemoglobin, or foetal haemoglobin (also hemoglobin F, HbF, or α2γ2) is the main oxygen carrier protein in the human fetus. Hemoglobin F is found in fetal red blood cells, and is involved in transporting oxygen from the mother's bloodstream to organs and tissues in the fetus. It is produced at around 6 weeks of pregnancy ...
Hemoglobin A (HbA), also known as adult hemoglobin, hemoglobin A1 or α 2 β 2, is the most common human hemoglobin tetramer, accounting for over 97% of the total red blood cell hemoglobin. [1] Hemoglobin is an oxygen-binding protein, found in erythrocytes , which transports oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. [ 2 ]
A variant hemoglobin, called fetal hemoglobin (HbF, α 2 γ 2), is found in the developing fetus, and binds oxygen with greater affinity than adult hemoglobin. This means that the oxygen binding curve for fetal hemoglobin is left-shifted (i.e., a higher percentage of hemoglobin has oxygen bound to it at lower oxygen tension), in comparison to ...
Hemoglobin variants are a part of the normal embryonic and fetal development. They may also be pathologic mutant forms of hemoglobin in a population, caused by variations in genetics. Some well-known hemoglobin variants, such as sickle-cell anemia, are responsible for diseases and are considered hemoglobinopathies.
This enables fetal hemoglobin to absorb oxygen from adult hemoglobin in the placenta, where the oxygen pressure is lower than at the lungs. Around 6 months of age after birth, the gamma chains will gradually be replaced by beta chains. This new hemoglobin structure is known as hemoglobin A, composed of two alpha and two beta chains (2α2β). [4]
Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is structurally different from normal adult hemoglobin (HbA), giving HbF a higher affinity for oxygen than HbA. HbF is composed of two alpha and two gamma chains whereas HbA is composed of two alpha and two beta chains. The fetal dissociation curve is shifted to the left relative to the curve for the normal adult because ...
Fetal hemoglobin is resistant to alkali (basic) denaturation, whereas adult hemoglobin is susceptible to such denaturation. Therefore, exposing the blood specimen to sodium hydroxide will denature the adult but not the fetal hemoglobin. The fetal hemoglobin will appear as a pinkish color under the microscope while the adult hemoglobin will ...
This removes adult hemoglobin, but not fetal hemoglobin, from the red blood cells. Subsequent staining, using Shepard's method, [ 3 ] makes fetal cells (containing fetal hemoglobin) appear rose-pink in color, while adult red blood cells are only seen as "ghosts". 2,000 cells are counted under the microscope and a percentage of fetal to maternal ...