Abstract
β-Thalassemia (β-thal) is the most common monogenic disorder in Turkey. The aim of this study was to investigate the spectrum of β-thal mutations in the Aegean region of Turkey. The data was derived from 1171 unrelated β-thal subjects, detected in a regional reference hospital between November 2004 and December 2013. Screening for the 22 common mutations was performed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-reverse dot-blot method, and direct automated DNA sequencing for the unknown samples. Thirty-one different β-thal alleles were identified. Seven mutations, namely IVS-I-110 (G > A) (41.7%), IVS-I-1 (G > A) (8.9%), IVS-II-745 (C > G) (8.6%), codon 8 (–AA) (7.7%), IVS-II-1 (G > A) (7.2%), IVS-I-6 (T > C) (6.6%), codon 39 (C > T) (4.6%) accounted for 85.3% of the mutated alleles. Frequencies of the remaining 24 β-thal mutations were less than 2.2%; these included one novel mutation [HBB: c.206_212del (p.Leu69Profs*19)], and four others [–56 (G > C), codon 16 (–C), IVS-I (–3) (C > T) (codon 29), codon 76 (–C)] found in Turkey for the first time. The results will help to prevent severe β-thal through genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis (PND) in the Aegean region of Turkey.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.