Genetic Causes The Cause Of Sickle Cell Disease

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Sickle cell disease is caused by mutations in the gene known as HBB found on Chromosome 11. This point mutation is known as a missense mutation meaning it changes the sequence of the DNA which causes the protein sequence to also change as well. Sickle cell disease is caused when the sequence CTT that usually codes for GLU in normal hemoglobin is altered to CAT this single base change causes the protein sequence to change to the production of VAL, this in turn causes the formation of sickled hemoglobin. This causes the hemoglobin produced to be altered in shape so that it cannot transport oxygen throughout the body as it should, along with this sickled cells can easily get caught within a person’s blood vessels. When the red blood cells get