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ABSTRACT. The primary function of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is to regulate the immune response. Because of its important role in the immune response and its high degree of polymorphism, the HLA system is associated with many diseases. We examined the polymorphisms of HLA-A, B and DRB1 alleles in 100 unrelated patients with lung carcinoma and in 438 unrelated normal controls of Han nationality from North China, using sequencebased typing and PCR with sequence-specific primers. We found that the frequencies of HLA-A*0201, A*2601, B*1518, B*3802, DRB1*0401, DRB1*0402, and DRB1*1201 were higher in the lung carcinoma group than in the normal control group. The P values were 0.035, 0.040, 0.001, 0.017, 0.014, 0.004, and 0.019, respectively, and the odds ratio values were 1. 052, 3.513, 4.047, 3.054, 4.237, 19.397, and 2.128, respectively. The frequency of HLA-DRB1*1302 was lower in the lung carcinoma group than in the normal control group (P = 0.046, odds ratio = 0.168). We concluded that patients with lung

Porcine vertebral and teat numbers are variable and important economic traits in pig production. However, the quantitative trait loci (QTL) and candidate genes for both of these traits in the Beijing Black Pig are not yet known. In the present study, number of vertebrae and number of teats were obtained for 891 individuals of the Beijing Black Pig and genotyped using the Illumina Porcine 50 K BeadChip. Genome scanning was performed to detect associated variants and candidate genes for both traits using a genome-wide association study by TASSEL software. For vertebral number, 15 significant SNPs were located on SSC7. According to linkage disequilibrium analysis on SSC7, a haplotype block of 221 kb from 97.4 to 97.6 Mb was shown to contain a good candidate gene ABCD4. Interestingly, on SSC12, we recorded a novel QTL containing three significant SNPs and 34 annotated genes from 24.0 to 25.7 Mb for vertebral number. Of the 34 genes, nine Hox family genes (HOXB 1-7, 9, and 13) were found to be good candidate genes. Using the 34 genes, a gene ontology analysis was performed to detect enrichment of anterior/posterior pattern specification. For teat number, a novel chromosome-wide significant QTL was identified on SSC10. In this QTL region, one significant SNP was identified. The nearest gene, NTRK2, was regarded as a candidate gene. The present results expanded the QTL for vertebral and teat numbers and provided useful molecular markers for breeding in the Beijing Black Pig population.