Detection of Krupple Like Factor -1(KLF1/ EKLF) DNA Mutations in Beta Thalassemia Patients

EKLF Mutations in Beta Thalassemia Patients

* Detection of KLF1 gene mutations in patients with beta thalassemia considering the alpha and beta molecular status of these patients. * Study the relation between genotypic mutational status of KLF1 mutation with the level of Hb F and Hb A2 in the patients of beta thalassemia.

Thalassemias are inherited abnormalities in globin chain synthesis of hemoglobin and one of the most common single gene disorders in the world. β-Thalassemia is caused by reduced (β+) or absent (β0) synthesis of the β-globin chains of haemoglobin. Three clinical and hematological conditions of increasing severity are recognized: the β-thalassemia trait, thalassemia intermedia and thalassemia major. The Erythroid Kruppel-like factor (EKLF or KLF1) is a master regulator of terminal erythroid differentiation, controlling expression of many key pathways and structures including cell division, the cell membrane and cytoskeleton, heme and globin synthesis. The KLF1 works as a key regulator of γ-globin to β-globin switch by up-regulation of PUM1 that binds to fetal γ globin mRNA impairing its stability and translation and by Bcl11a expression that represses γ-globin expression. Previous studies reported that KLF1 mutations have been identified in a variety of erythroid conditions like hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin, Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia and borderline HbA2. An Indian study on KLF1 gene variations found a marginal significance in the thalassemia intermedia group (14%) as against the thalassemia major group (2.0%). Also, a case report on a Chinese family with twin brothers, both of whom had the same genotype of β0/β0, reported that KLF1 mutations have a role in modulating the phenotypic severity of β-thalassemia. In our study, where there is high incidence of beta thalassemia in Egypt, we try to detect KLF1 mutations and its relation to clinical phenotype of these patients.

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