The unequal expression of human alpha-globin genes at the protein level.

Chromatographic and electrophoretic quantitation of the two different kinds of abnormal alpha-chain variations, present in the double heterozygote for Hb J Buda/Hb A/Hb G Pest, revealed a relative abundance of Hb J Buda in the young red cells in comparison to the old and total erythrocyte populations of the same individual. This result is in good agreement with the literary data on the unequal mRNA production of the two alpha-globin genes, providing the supposition that unequal alpha-gene expression is manifested at the protein level in humans too.