Studies on Hemoglobin Biosynthesis: Asynchronous Synthesis of Hemoglobin A and Hemoglobin A2 by Erythrocyte Precursors *

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Abstract
The incorporation of both radioactive iron and amino acids into hemoglobins A and A2 in an in vitro system has been studied. In reticulocyte preparations the specific activity of hemoglobin A always exceeds that of hemoglobin A2 at incubation times of greater than 2 hours, whereas at earlier times, this difference is less marked. The difference is also less in experiments utilizing bone marrow and blood from individuals with thalassemia major. These results indicate that, in the reticulocyte, hemoglobin A2 synthesis is retarded before that of hemoglobin A.