Serology interpretation of antibody panel for blood group antigens

The Colton antigen system (Co) is present on the membranes of

red blood cells Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (, with -''cyte'' translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cel ...

and in the tubules of the

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

and helps determine a person's

blood type A blood type (also known as a blood group) is based on the presence and absence of antibody, antibodies and Heredity, inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycop ...

. The Co

antigen In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule, moiety, foreign particulate matter, or an allergen, such as pollen, that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. ...

is found on a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

called aquaporin-1 which is responsible for water

homeostasis In biology, homeostasis (British English, British also homoeostasis; ) is the state of steady internal physics, physical and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning fo ...

and urine concentration. The Co antigen is important in

transfusion medicine Transfusion medicine (or transfusiology) is the branch of medicine that encompasses all aspects of the Blood transfusion, transfusion of blood and blood components including aspects related to hemovigilance. It includes issues of blood donation, im ...

. 99.8% of people possess the Co(a)

allele An allele is a variant of the sequence of nucleotides at a particular location, or Locus (genetics), locus, on a DNA molecule. Alleles can differ at a single position through Single-nucleotide polymorphism, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), ...

. Individuals with Co(b) allele or who are missing the Colton antigen are at risk for a

transfusion reaction Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but ...

such as

hemolytic anemia Hemolytic anemia or haemolytic anaemia is a form of anemia due to hemolysis, the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells (RBCs), either in the blood vessels (intravascular hemolysis) or elsewhere in the human body (extravascular). This most commonl ...

or alloimmunization. Antibodies against the Colton antigen may also cause

hemolytic disease of the newborn Hemolytic disease of the newborn, also known as hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, HDN, HDFN, or erythroblastosis fetalis, is an alloimmune condition that develops in a fetus at or around birth, when the IgG molecules (one of the five ...

, in which a pregnant woman's body creates antibodies against the blood of her fetus, leading to destruction of the fetal blood cells.Covin RB, Evans KS, Olshock R, Thompson HW. ''Acute hemolytic transfusion reaction caused by anti-Coa.'' Immunohematol. 2001 Jun;17(2):45-9.

References

* OMIM entry for the Colton antigen

External links

Colton
at

BGMUT The BGMUT (Blood Group antigen gene MUTation) Database documents allele, allelic variations in the genes encoding for human blood group systems. It was set up in 1999 through an initiative of the Human Genome Variation Society (HGVS). Since 2006, i ...

Blood Group Antigen Gene Mutation Database at

NCBI The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The NCBI is loca ...

, NIH Blood antigen systems Transfusion medicine Genes on human chromosome 7 {{Gene-7-stub