Evidence for posttranslational control of fetal hemoglobin synthesis

Subunit competition experiments were conducted by recombining various amounts of α‐subunits with an equimolar mixture of γ‐and β A ‐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.