Transferrin subtypes in 51 Danish patients with hereditary haemochromatosis and in 847 normal subjects.

Transferrin (TF) subtypes were determined by isoelectric focusing in 51 unrelated Danish patients with hereditary haemochromatosis (HH) and in 847 normal subjects. The following TF phenotype frequencies were observed in HH patients and controls, respectively: TF*C1, 70.6% vs. 58.8%; TF*C2, 5.9% vs. 2.4%; TF*C3, 0% vs. 0.4%; TF*C1-2, 11.8% vs. 24.7%; TF*C1-3, 5.9% vs. 9.7%; TF*C2-3, 3.9% vs. 2.2%; TF*B-C1, 2.0% vs. 1.5%; TF*B-C2, 0% vs. 0.4%. None of these differences were statistically significant. There was no relationship between the TF subtypes and the clinical or paraclinical expression of disease in HH patients.