Hemoglobin electrophoresis
Encyclopedia
Hemoglobin electrophoresis is a blood test
Blood test
A blood test is a laboratory analysis performed on a blood sample that is usually extracted from a vein in the arm using a needle, or via fingerprick....

 that can detect different types of hemoglobin
Hemoglobin
Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of all vertebrates, with the exception of the fish family Channichthyidae, as well as the tissues of some invertebrates...

. It uses the principles of gel electrophoresis
Gel electrophoresis
Gel electrophoresis is a method used in clinical chemistry to separate proteins by charge and or size and in biochemistry and molecular biology to separate a mixed population of DNA and RNA fragments by length, to estimate the size of DNA and RNA fragments or to separate proteins by charge...

 to separate out the various types of hemoglobin and is a type of native gel electrophoresis. The test can detect abnormal levels of HbS, the form associated with sickle-cell disease
Sickle-cell disease
Sickle-cell disease , or sickle-cell anaemia or drepanocytosis, is an autosomal recessive genetic blood disorder with overdominance, characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cells' flexibility and results in a risk of various...

, as well as other abnormal hemoglobin-related blood disorders, such as hemoglobin C
Hemoglobin C
Hemoglobin C is an abnormal hemoglobin with substitution of a lysine residue for a glutamic acid residue at the 6th position of the β-globin chain.-Clinical significance:...

. It can also be used to determine whether there is a deficiency of any normal form of hemoglobin, as in the group of diseases known as thalassemia
Thalassemia
Thalassemia is an inherited autosomal recessive blood disease that originated in the Mediterranean region. In thalassemia the genetic defect, which could be either mutation or deletion, results in reduced rate of synthesis or no synthesis of one of the globin chains that make up hemoglobin...

s. Different hemoglobins have different charges, and according to those charges and the amount, hemoglobins move at different speeds in the gel whether in alkaline gel or acid gel.The hemoglobin electrophoresis is also known to be thalessemia screening, this also can be helpful for the patient who is frequently need of fresh blood transfusion. The patient needs blood transfusion because the body is unable to produce enough hemoglobin to satisfy the body's requirement.(See Migration Patterns). Electrophoresis is done by the use of cellulose acetate. After running electrophoresis at 150 to 200 volt, stain the cellulose acetate gel with Ponceau red.
Thalassemia major Hb F level and Hb A2 levels increase.
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