Molecular Biology of Hemoglobin in
Sickle-Cell Anemia
The
left-hand figure shows a
sickle-cell hemoglobin fiber, with heme groups in red and the valine
residue in blue. The
fiber
consists of two strands: note that the valine
residues make
intermolecular
contacts between the two strands,so as to stabilize the
structure.The
right-hand figure is a close-up stereo diagram of the contact:
the regions labelled E & F
are in the beta-globin
subunit of a hemoglobin one strand,
and the A & H
regions are in
the other fiber. The yellow Val residue
on the right-hand molecule fits into a pocket formed by amino
acids 84,
85, 87, & 88 in the left hand molecule.
Figures © 2009 by W. Royer; text material © 2012 by Steven M. Carr