Haptoglobin Gene Polymorphism among Sickle Cell Patients in West Cameroon: Hematological and Clinical Implications

Christian Bernard Kengne Fotsing; Constant Anatole Pieme; Prosper Cabral Biapa Nya; Jean Paul Chedjou; Samuel Ashusong; Gisele Njindam; Jocelyn Tony Nengom; Georges Teto; Carine Nguemeni; Wilfred Fon Mbacham; Donatien Gatsing

doi:10.1155/2021/6939413

Haptoglobin Gene Polymorphism among Sickle Cell Patients in West Cameroon: Hematological and Clinical Implications

Adv Hematol. 2021 Oct 20:2021:6939413. doi: 10.1155/2021/6939413. eCollection 2021.

Affiliations

¹ Research Unit of Microbiology and Antimicrobial Substances, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, P O. Box 67, Dschang, Cameroon.
² Research Unit of Biochemistry of Medicinal Plants, Food Sciences and Nutrition, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, P O. Box 67, Dschang, Cameroon.
³ Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde I, P O. Box, Yaounde 1364, Cameroon.
⁴ Laboratory for Public Health Research Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon.
⁵ Bafoussam Regional Hospital, P O. Box 980, Bafoussam, Cameroon.
⁶ Centre International de Recherche Chantal Biya, Yaounde, Cameroon.
⁷ Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.

Abstract

Haptoglobin is a protein involved in protecting the body from the harmful effects of free hemoglobin. The haptoglobin gene exhibits a polymorphism, and the different genotypes do not have the same capacity to combat the free hemoglobin effects. The present study aimed at determining the polymorphic distribution of haptoglobin in sickle cell patients (SCPs) from West Cameroon and their impact on the hematological parameters, as well as clinical manifestations of the disease severity. Haptoglobin genotype of 102 SCPs (SS) and 115 healthy individuals (60 AA and 55 AS) was determined by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction, and the complete blood count was determined using the AutoAnalyser. Results showed that the genotype Hp2-2 was significantly (p < 0.05) represented in SS patients (54%) than in controls AA and AS (27% and 29%, respectively), while Hp2-1 was mostly found (p < 0.05) in AS (42%) and AA (38%), against 15% in SS. The allelic distribution in SS patients was Hp²: 0.613, Hp^1S: 0.304, and Hp^1F: 0.084. In AA and AS controls, the proportions of the Hp¹ and Hp² alleles were similar (around 0.5 each), with 0.282 for Hp^1S and 0.218 for Hp^1F in AS and 0.283 for Hp^1S and 0.258 for Hp^1F in AA. The distribution of the haptoglobin genotypes did not reveal any significant difference across hematological parameters and clinical manifestations of disease severity in SCP and controls. SCP with Hp1S-1F genotype presented the highest level of hemoglobin. Although Hp2-2 was more frequent in SS patients, it appeared not to be related to the hematological parameters and to the disease's severity. Further investigations are necessary to explore the impact of Hp polymorphism such as antioxidant, lipid profile, and functionality of some tissues in SCP in Cameroon.