Authors

Yenya Hu

Publication Date

5-1992

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

M.R. Houston, F.R. Toman, C.A. Rinehart

Degree Program

Department of Biology

Degree Type

Master of Science

Abstract

Hemoglobin Zurich is a hemoglobin anomaly that results when one amino acid (histidine) is substituted by arginine at position 63 in the beta chain of hemoglobin molecules [β 63 His—Arg]. When Hemoglobin Zurich individuals are exposed to sulfonamide medication, their hemoglobins denature and subsequently form Heinz bodies which attach to the surface of the plasma membrane.

Four Hemoglobin Zurich family members were the subjects of the current study. They included a splenectomized female subject, non-splenectomized female and male subjects, and a non-splenectomized female member without Hemoglobin Zurich as the control. The results collaborate that splenectomy increases the number of erythrocytes containing Heinz bodies in peripheral blood. The menstrual cycle apparently has no statistical affect on the increased ratio of Heinz body-containing erythrocytes to normal erythrocytes.

Disciplines

Biology | Hematology | Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences

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