Blood, 1953, Vol. 8, No. 5, pp. 422-433.
© 1953 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Differences in Antigenic Specificity of Human Normal Adult,
Fetal, and Sickle Cell Anemia Hemoglobin
MORRIS GOODMAN PH.D.1 and
DAN H. CAMPBELL PH.D.1
1 Kerckhoff Laboratories of Biology and the Gates and Crellin Laboratories of
Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
1. Small differences in the antigenic structures of human normal adult hemoglobin and sickle cell anemia hemoglobin were found to exist. A difference in the
serologic behavior of these two hemoglobins attributable to a factor other than
that of antigenic specificity was also demonstrated. This factor is thought to
pertain to differences in the physicochemical properties of the 2 hemoglobins.
2. Rabbit antiserums failed to show a difference in antigenic specificity, but
with chicken antiserums a difference was clearly demonstrated when the in vitro
reactions were performed under conditions which produced maximal precipitation. Results suggest that these 2 hemoglobins have a predominance of common
antigenic determinants but a small number that are unique for each of the types.
3. Relatively large differences in specificity were found to exist between fetal
hemoglobin and adult hemoglobin which suggest that only a few antigenic groups
are shared in common by the 2 types.
4. The second, minor hemoglobin in patients with sickle cell anemia was shown
to have an antigenic specificity that was either identical with or very similar to
that of fetal hemoglobin.
Submitted on October 15, 1952
Accepted on December 31, 1952
