Hb Albany-Suma (α11 [A9] Lys→Asn), a Hemoglobin Variant with Slightly Elevated Oxygen Affinity in Japan

Abstract
A fast-moving abnormal Hb was detected in a heterozygous condition from a patient with benign goiter. The Hb has a slight but significant high O2 affinity. The patient does not show any hematologic abnormality. Structural analysis indicated that a lysine residue normally present at .alpha.11 was substituted by an asparagine residue. This substitution with was not described previously was discovered coincidentally by another laboratory. The new variant was named Hb Albany-Suma to denote the origin of the variant in both the USA and Japan.