Volume 2024, Issue 1 4940760
Research Article
Open Access

Detection of Asymptomatic Sickle Cell Hemoglobin Carriers and Fetal Hemoglobin Regulating Genetic Variants in African Descendants from Oaxaca, Mexico

María De Los Ángeles Romero-Tlalolini

María De Los Ángeles Romero-Tlalolini

CONACYT-Medicine and Surgery Faculty, Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Sergio Roberto Aguilar-Ruiz

Sergio Roberto Aguilar-Ruiz

CONACYT-Medicine and Surgery Faculty, Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Rafael Baltiérrez-Hoyos

Rafael Baltiérrez-Hoyos

CONACYT-Medicine and Surgery Faculty, Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Jaime Vargas-Arzola

Jaime Vargas-Arzola

Chemical Sciences Faculty, Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Luis Alberto Hernández-Osorio

Luis Alberto Hernández-Osorio

Chemical Sciences Faculty, Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Verónica Rocío Vásquez-Garzón

Verónica Rocío Vásquez-Garzón

CONACYT-Medicine and Surgery Faculty, Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Héctor Ulises Bernardino-Hernández

Héctor Ulises Bernardino-Hernández

Chemical Sciences Faculty, Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Honorio Torres-Aguilar

Corresponding Author

Honorio Torres-Aguilar

Chemical Sciences Faculty, Universidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico

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First published: 29 April 2024
Academic Editor: Duran Canatan

Abstract

Sickle cell anemia has been classified as a noninfectious neglected tropical disease and, although not exclusively, affects African descendants more frequently. This study aimed to detect asymptomatic sickle cell hemoglobin carriers (HbAS) in marginalized and vulnerable populations during a public health screening in African descendants from Oaxaca, Mexico, and to validate an amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS)-PCR methodology to detect fetal-hemoglobin (HbF)-regulating genetic variants in BCL11A toward affordable routine association of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) with HbF concentrations. To this aim, hemoglobin variants were detected by acidic citrate agar and alkaline cellulose acetate electrophoreses. SNVs in the hemoglobin subunit beta gene (HBB) were identified by the β-globin mutation detection assay (β-GMDA) and ARMS-PCR, respectively, and validated by Sanger sequencing. The association between genotypes and HbF concentrations was evaluated using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. The results obtained during a directed screening in 140 self-identified African descendants revealed 42 HbS-carriers (30%), of which 39 showed normal total hemoglobin concentrations (92.8%), only 3 presented anemia (7.2%), and 9 showed quantifiable HbF concentration (21.4%). As validated by Sanger sequencing, the designed ARMS-PCR efficiently detected homozygous and heterozygous variants in BCL11A. In a cohort of 42 heterozygous (HbAS) and 27 healthy (HbAA) individuals from the same population, only one SNV (rs766432) showed statistically significant association with increasing HbF concentration, and two new unrelated homozygous silent variants were identified. This study reveals the need to raise coverage of HbS screening in vulnerable populations and shows a feasible low-cost ARMS-PCR methodology to determine the presence of SNVs in quantitative trait loci affecting HbF.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Data Availability

The data used to support the findings of this study are included in the article. Additional databases are available for further research upon request from the corresponding author.

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