The causes of sickle cell have been known since the s. The HBB gene encodes an important blood protein called beta globin. A person with beta-thalassemia carries a mutation in both copies of the HBB gene, completely halting production of the beta globin protein.
Description Transcript Keywords Info Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disease that affects hemoglobin, the oxygen transport molecule in the blood. ID: Source: www. Related Content. Hemoglobin and sickle cell anemia, 3D animation with no audio This animation shows hemoglobin proteins of a person with sickle cell anemia. Katreece, sickle cell patient Katreece here at right has sickle cell anemia. Geneticists use the terms dominant and recessive to describe the likelihood of a particular trait being passed on to the next generation.
You have two copies of each of your genes — one from your mother and another from your father. Each copy of a gene is called an allele. You may receive a dominant allele from each parent, a recessive allele from each parent, or one of each. Dominant alleles usually override recessive alleles, hence their name. The sickle cell anemia trait is found on a recessive allele of the hemoglobin gene.
This means that you must have two copies of the recessive allele — one from your mother and one from your father — to have the condition. Each cell of your body typically contains 23 pairs of chromosomes. Out of each pair, one chromosome is inherited from your mother and the other from your father. The first 22 pairs of chromosomes are referred to as autosomes and are the same between males and females.
The last pair of chromosomes are called sex chromosomes. These chromosomes differ between the sexes. Some genetic conditions are sex-linked, meaning that the allele is present on the X or Y sex chromosome.
Others are autosomal, meaning that the allele is present on one of the autosomes. The sickle cell anemia allele is autosomal, meaning it can be found on one of the other 22 pairs of chromosomes, but not on the X or Y chromosome. In order to have sickle cell anemia, you must have two copies of the recessive sickle cell allele.
But what about those with only one copy? These people are known as carriers. Carriers have one dominant allele and once recessive allele. But they can still pass the recessive allele on to their children.
A doctor will take a small blood sample, usually from a fingertip, and send it off to a laboratory for analysis. What is sickle cell?
Related Content. What causes sickle cell? What causes beta-thalassemia? What is beta-thalassemia? Beta-thalassemia The HBB gene encodes an important blood protein called beta globin. Sickle cell anemia, 3D animation with narration Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disease that affects hemoglobin, the oxygen transport molecule in the blood.
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