In this bonus episode of the
Blood podcast, we'll hear from Dr. Nicole Thornton, senior author of the article “
Deletions in the MAL gene result in loss of Mal protein, defining the rare inherited AnWj-negative blood group phenotype”, speaks with
Blood Associate Editor Dr. Erica Wood about the discovery of the genetic basis for the inherited AnWj-negative blood group phenotype. The discovery that Mal protein is expressed on red blood cell membranes of AnWj-positive, but not AnWj-negative individuals, and that homozygous deletion in MAL causes the AnWj-negative blood group phenotype, helps answer a decades-old mystery related to the high prevalence red blood cell antigen AnWj and forms the basis of a new blood group system.