Evidence for posttranslational control of fetal hemoglobin synthesis

Abstract
Subunit competition experiments were conducted by recombining various amounts of α-subunits with an equimolar mixture of γ-and βA-subunits. The results showed that γ-subunits combine with α-subunits less readily than β-subunits. Thus, in the presence of α-chain deficiency (α-thalassemia) the formation of HbA is preferred over HbF, resulting in a decrease in the level of the latter.