Serological and molecular biological analysis of an individual with para-Bombay blood group due to homozygous c.948C>A variant of FUT1 gene

Abstract

To study the serological, molecular and genetic characteristics of an individual with para-Bombay blood group. Serological method was used to detect the presence of A, B, H antigens in red blood cells and saliva, and Sanger sequencing was used to analyze the FUT1 gene of the proband and her family members. Genetic mechanism of the blood group was analyzed by pedigree analysis. Forward and reverse typing of the ABO blood group were inconsistent for the proband. A, B and H antigens were not found on erythrocytes, while B and H antigens were found in saliva, in addition with unexpected antibodies. The proband was found to have a genotype of ABO*B.01/ABO*O.01.04 caused by homozygous variant of c.948C>A (p.Tyr316Ter) of the FUT1 gene. A novel para-Bombay blood group was identified, which was due to the missense variant of c.948C>A in the coding region of the FUT1 gene, which has probably resulted in inability to synthesis active H antigen transferase.