The most severe form of α-thalassemia results from loss of all four copies of α-globin. Postnatally, patients face challenges similar to β-thalassemia, including severe anemia and erythrotoxicity due to the imbalance of β-globin and α-globin chains. Despite progress in genome editing treatments for β-thalassemia, there is no analogous curative option for α-thalassemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCircadian rhythms are generated by interlocked transcription-translation feedback loops that establish cell-autonomous biological timing of ∼24 h. Mutations in core clock genes that alter their stability or affinity for one another lead to changes in circadian period. The human CRY1Δ11 mutant lengthens circadian period to cause delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD), characterized by a very late onset of sleep.
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