Extragenic factor IX gene RFLP is useful for detecting carriers of Japanese hemophilia B.

Seventy-eight X chromosomes from 25 normal Japanese subjects and 22 family members with hemophilia B (coagulation factor IX deficiency) were examined with an extragenic factor IX DNA probe, pX58dIIIc at DXS99 locus. In contrast to the previously described nonpolymorphic RFLPs in the factor IX gene, DXS99 locus RFLP produced by SacI digestion was detected among those Japanese subjects with allelic frequencies of 0.48 and 0.52. The estimated heterozygosity rate of this extragenic RFLP among Japanese females was about 50%. The study of hemophilia B family members showed that DXS99 locus RFLP was informative in 9 out of 13 families tested (69.2%). No recombination events between the factor IX gene locus (F9) and DXS99 locus have been noted among nine families analyzed. DXS99 SacI RFLP is a useful gene indicator of carrier-ship of hemophilia B.