RESUMEN
We studied an African population in Benin and discovered an unexpectedly high frequency (1.6%) of hereditary elliptocytosis (HE) among the 1447 subjects studied. In approximately two-thirds of HE individuals we identified molecular defects, primarily those in erythrocyte alpha-spectrin (dupL154, L260P and L207P mutations), as well as a novel mutation of erythrocyte beta-spectrin (beta-W2061R mutation). We also identified the genetic basis of a previously identified protein polymorphism of the alpha III domain of spectrin (R1331I mutation). The genetic background of HE in the African population was studied using a number of polymorphisms of the alpha-spectrin gene, including the alpha III domain polymorphism. These studies suggest that the HE mutations appear to have originated from separate genetic backgrounds in this population.