In populations that have a high degree of admixture, such as in Brazil, the sole use of ethnicity self-declaration information is not a good method for classifying individuals regarding their ethnicity. Here, we evaluate the relationship of self-declared ethnicities with genomic ancestry and mitochondrial haplogroups in 492 individuals from southeastern Brazil. Mitochondrial haplogroups were obtained by analyzing the hypervariable regions of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and the genomic ancestry was obtained using 48 autosomal insertion-deletion ancestry informative markers (AIM). Of the 492 individuals, 74.6% self-declared as White, 13.8% as Brown and 10.4% as Black. Classification of the mtDNA haplogroups showed that 46.3% had African mtDNA, and the genomic ancestry analysis showed that the main contribution was European (57.4%). When we looked at the distribution of mtDNA and genomic ancestry according to the self-declared ethnicities from 367 individuals who self-declared as White, 37.6% showed African mtDNA, and they had a high contribution of European genomic ancestry (63.3%) but also a significant contribution of African ancestry (22.2%). Of the 68 individuals who self-declared as Brown, 25% showed Amerindian mtDNA and similar contribution of European and African genomic ancestries. Of the 51 subjects who self-declared as black, 80.4% had African mtDNA, and the main contribution of genomic ancestry was African (55.6%), but they also had a significant proportion of European ancestry (32.1%). The Brazilian population had a uniform degree of Amerindian genomic ancestry, and it was only with the use of genetic markers (autosomal or mitochondrial) that we were able to capture Amerindian ancestry information. Additionally, it was possible to observe a high degree of heterogeneity in the ancestry for both types of genetic markers, which shows the high genetic admixture that is present in the Brazilian population. We suggest that in epidemiological studies, the use of these methods could provide complementary information.

MYH9 polymorphisms have been described to be associated with the risk of CKD in non-diabetic nephropathy, HIV nephropathy and FSGS. Predominating in black descendants, MHY9 genetic variants could partially explain the excess risk of CKD associated with African ancestry. However, recent data suggests that APOL1 gene co-segregate with MYH9, and could be the gene truly associated with CKD risk. In this study, we evaluated the role of MYH9 and APOL1 gene polymorphisms in the risk of CKD in Brazilian patients with lupus nephritis (LN). A retrospective analysis of 196 LN patients was done. MYH9 rs4821480, rs2032487, rs4821481 and rs3752462, APOL 1rs73885319, rs16996616, rs60910145, rs71785313, and APOL3 rs11089781 gene polymorphisms were determined. Genetic ancestry was ascertained both by autossomal ancestry and mitochondrial haplogroup. Primary outcome was defined as doubling of serum creatinine (DC) or end stage renal disease (ESRD). Sixty-two patients presented the PO. In our population, MYH9 and APOL1 were not in LD. None APOL polymorphism was associated with the PO, whereas rs3752462 MYH9 polymorphism showed a positive association (HR3.72, 95%CI 1.47–9.38, p = 0.005). When we analyzed the MYH9 E1 haplotype, the GCCT carriers (1 or 2 alelles present in 29.7% in the PO group vs. 18.5% in controls) showed a significant association to the risk of PO, even after adjustments for baseline estimated creatinine clearance and autossomal ancestry (HR 2.0, 95%CI 1.2–3.4, p = 0.01). Our results show that in our population MYH9, but not APOL1, gene polymorphisms confer an increased risk of CKD in LN patients, independently of race.

Brazilian population derives from Native Amerindians, Europeans, and Africans. Southeastern Brazil is the most populous region of the country. The present study intended to characterize the maternal genetic ancestry of 290 individuals from southeastern (Brazil) population. Thus, we made the sequencing of the three hypervariable regions (HV1, HV2, and HV3) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The statistical analyses were made using Arlequin software, and the median-joining haplotype networks were generated using Network software. The analysis of three hypervariable regios showed 230 (79.3 %) unique haplotypes and the most common haplotype was "263G" carried by 12 (4.1 %) individuals. The strikingly high variability generated by intense gene flow is mirrored in a high sequence diversity (0.9966 ± 0.0010), and the probability of two random individuals showing identical mtDNA haplotypes were 0.0068. The analysis of haplogroup distribution revealed that 36.9 % (n = 107) presented Amerindian haplogroups, 35.2 % (n = 102) presented African haplogroups, 27.6 % (n = 80) presented European haplogroups, and one (0.3 %) individual presented East Asian haplogroup, evidencing that the southeastern population is extremely heterogeneous and the coexistence of matrilineal lineages with three different phylogeographic origins. The genetic diversity found in the mtDNA control region in the southeastern Brazilian population reinforces the importance of increased national database in order to be important and informative in forensic cases.

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