Genetics of the blood types

A blood type (also called a blood group) is a classification of blood based on the presence or absence of inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, or glycolipids, depending on the blood group system. Some of these antigens are also present on the surface of other types of cells of various tissues. Several of these red blood cell surface antigens can stem from one allele (or very closely linked genes) and collectively form a blood group system. Blood types are inherited and represent contributions from both parents. A total of 32 human blood group systems are now recognized by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). The two most important ones are ABO and the RhD antigen; they determine someone’s blood type (A, B, AB and O, with and - denoting RhD status). Many pregnant women carry a fetus with a blood type different from their own, and the mother can form antibodies against fetal RBCs. Sometimes these maternal antibodies are IgG, a small immunoglobulin, which can cross the placenta and cause hemolysis of fetal RBCs, which in turn can lead to hemolytic disease of the newborn called erythroblastosis fetalis, an illness of low fetal blood counts that ranges from mild to severe. Sometimes this is lethal for the fetus; in these cases it is called hydrops fetalis. Blood group systems A complete blood type would describe a full set of 30 substances on the surface of RBCs, and an individual’s blood type is one of many possible combinations of blood-group antigens. Across the 30 blood groups, over 600 different blood-group antigens have been found, but many of these are very rare, some being found mainly in certain ethnic groups. Almost always, an individual has the same blood group for life, but very rarely an individual’s blood type changes through addition or suppression of an antigen in infection, malignancy, or autoimmune disease. Another more common cause in blood type change is a bone marrow transplant. Bone-marrow transplants are performed for many leukemias and lymphomas, among other diseases. If a person receives bone marrow from someone who is a different ABO type (e.g., a type A patient receives a type O bone marrow), the patient’s blood type will eventually convert to the donor’s type. Some blood types are associated with inheritance of other diseases; for example, the Kell antigen is sometimes associated with McLeod syndrome. Certain blood types may affect susceptibility to infections, an example being the resistance to specific malaria species seen in individuals lacking the Duffy antigen. The Duffy antigen, presumably as a result of natural selection, is less common in ethnic groups from areas with a high incidence of malaria. #Anaphase #enzyme #BloodType #Allele #chromosome #geneticCode #antibodies #hemolyticDisease #rnaSplicing #genotype #geneExpression #carbohydrates #redBloodCells #GeneticsLecture #rRNA #DNA #dnaMolecule #centromeres #Genetics101 #proteins #genomics #phenotype #chromatid #GeneticExamQuestionsSolutions #genetics #orGlycolipids #prokaryotes #Isochromosome #antigen #genes #transcription #glycoproteins #genome #InternationalSocietyOfBloodTransfusion #gene #BloodGroup #antigenic