Correlation between genetic HLA class I and II polymorphisms and anthropological aspects in the Chaouya population from Morocco (Arabic speaking)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to provide genetic and anthropological information on the Chaouya (CH), an Arabic-speaking population living in West Morocco, Atlantic coast (Settat). In 98 unrelated healthy CH volunteers, we first investigated the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II allele polymorphisms using a sequence-based typing method and examined haplotypes and relatedness of this group to other African and Mediterranean populations. The study showed the close relatedness with Tunisian population and other North Africans, together with a strong influence of various immigrations, mainly Spaniards, French, and Portuguese, as expected. Nevertheless, analysis of class II allele frequencies (afs) showed that Oromo and Amhara Ethiopian groups cluster together with the Berbers and other North Africans, confirming the relationship between these populations (Afro-Asiatic linguistic group, Hamites). South and sub-Saharan Africans cluster separately at a great distance from CH, except the sub-Saharan Bantu population from Congo Kinshasa, which shows a relatively close genetic relationship ascribable to the effect of a diversifying selection. On the other hand, considering HLA class I afs analyses, it was noteworthy that CH grouped together with sub-Saharans, showing a close genetic distance mainly with Ugandas and Kenians Luo.

HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 allele frequencies in Cyrenaica population (Libya) and genetic relationships with other populations

“…HLA-A ⁄ 01 (11.4%) has a similar distribution to those reported in Moroccan (12.1%) [12,31,32], and Algerian (11.9%) [14] and other populations [32] and Tunisians (17.5%) [34] but lower than those reported for Tunisian Berbers (24.8%) [39]. Similar frequencies were also found for the allele HLA-A ⁄ 01:01:01:01 (11.4%) in Tunisians (11.2%) [34] and Moroccans (12.8%) [32]. Other alleles, present at a frequency below 10%, showed frequencies similar to those reported for Tunisians and Moroccans with the exception for HLA-A ⁄ 30:02:01, HLA-A ⁄ 34:02:01 and HLA-A ⁄ 66:01; these alleles were more frequent in those populations [32,34] than in the study population from Cyrenaica.…”

“…This value is also highest in other Mediterranean and African populations [12,13,23,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. HLA-A ⁄ 01 (11.4%) has a similar distribution to those reported in Moroccan (12.1%) [12,31,32], and Algerian (11.9%) [14] and other populations [32] and Tunisians (17.5%) [34] but lower than those reported for Tunisian Berbers (24.8%) [39]. Similar frequencies were also found for the allele HLA-A ⁄ 01:01:01:01 (11.4%) in Tunisians (11.2%) [34] and Moroccans (12.8%) [32].…”

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphism and type 1 diabetes in the Moroccan population

“…Distribution of alleles and haplotypes observed in our controls are in accordance with previous Moroccan studies (Brick et al, 2006;Oumhani et al, 2002;Canosi at al., 2010). Our data confirm the well-known positive association between T1D and HLA-DRB1*03 and -DRB*04.…”

“…The present Moroccan population comprises different ethnic groups (Arabic, Berber, Africa) with a strong influence of various immigrations, mainly Mediterranean. All these populations probably contributed to the Moroccans genetic pool (Canosi et al, 2010) The HLA alleles and haplotypes distribution among Moroccan T1D population is not well defined because it has not been extensively studied. In this report, we analysed HLA class II polymorphism in Moroccan patients affected by T1D from diverse region of Morocco and we compared them to healthy controls of the same ethnic origin.…”

HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 Allele Lineages and Haplotype Frequencies among Saudis

“…8 Analysis of alleles and/or haplotypes of the HLA molecules also provides useful means to study the genetic diversity among different populations and within individuals of the same ethnic group. [9][10][11] Most of the population in Saudi Arabia (SA) are of Arab origin who have lived in this region for thousands of years. 12 The central areas of SA such as Riyadh and Al Gaseem have more population stability than other parts.…”