Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a widely used and effective therapy for hematopoietic malignant diseases and numerous other disorders. High-resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype frequency distributions not only facilitate individual donor searches but also determine the probability with which a particular patient can find HLA-matched donors in a registry. The frequencies of the HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 alleles and haplotypes were estimated among 169,995 Chinese volunteers using the sequencing-based typing (SBT) method. Totals of 191 HLA-A, 244 HLA-B, 146 HLA-C, 143 HLA-DRB1 and 47 HLA-DQB1 alleles were observed, which accounted for 6.98%, 7.06%, 6.46%, 9.11% and 7.91%, respectively, of the alleles in each locus in the world (IMGT 3.16 Release, Apr. 2014). Among the 100 most common haplotypes from the 169,995 individuals, nine distinct haplotypes displayed significant regionally specific distributions. Among these, three were predominant in the South China region (i.e., the 20th, 31st, and 81sthaplotypes), another three were predominant in the Southwest China region (i.e., the 68th, 79th, and 95th haplotypes), one was predominant in the South and Southwest China regions (the 18th haplotype), one was relatively common in the Northeast and North China regions (the 94th haplotype), and one was common in the Northeast, North and Northwest China (the 40th haplotype). In conclusion, this is the first to analyze high-resolution HLA diversities across the entire country of China, based on a detailed and complete data set that covered 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. Specifically, we also evaluated the HLA matching probabilities within and between geographic regions and analyzed the regional differences in the HLA diversities in China. We believe that the data presented in this study might be useful for unrelated HLA-matched donor searches, donor registry planning, population genetic studies, and anthropogenesis studies.

Mammalian MTH1 protein, a MutT-related protein, catalyzes the hydrolysis of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine triphosphate (8-oxoGTP) to monophosphate, thereby preventing incorporation of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoguanine) into RNA. In this study, we applied immunohistochemistry to follow the expression of MTH1 and the amount of 8-oxoguanine in RNA during aging. There were increased amounts of 8-oxoguanine in RNA in the CAl and CA3 subregions of hippocampi of 8- and 12-month-old SAMP8 mice, which exhibited early aging syndromes and declining learning and memory abilities compared to those of age-matched control SAMR1 mice. The expression levels of MTH1 in the hippocampi of 8- and 12-month-old SAMP8 mice were significantly lower than those of control mice. Therefore, in this mouse model, age-related accumulation of 8-oxoguanine in RNA is correlated with decreased expression of MTH1. Increased amounts of 8-oxoguanine in the RNA, and decreased expression of MTH1 were also observed in the hippocampi of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. These results suggest that MTH1 deficiency might be a causative factor for aging and age-related disorders.

High-resolution human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-A, -B, -Cw, -DRB1, and -DQB1 alleles and haplotype frequencies were analysed from 718 Chinese healthy donors selected from the Chinese Marrow Donor Program registry based on HLA donor-recipient confirmatory typings. A total of 28 HLA-A, 61 HLA-B, 30 HLA-Cw, 40 HLA-DRB1 and 18 HLA-DQB1 alleles were identified, and HLA-A*1101, A*2402, A*0201, B*4001, Cw*0702, Cw*0102, Cw*0304, DRB1*0901, DRB1*1501, DQB1*0301, DQB1*0303 and DQB1*0601 were found with frequencies higher than 10% in this study population. Multiple-locus haplotype analysis by the maximum-likelihood method revealed 45 A-B, 38 Cw-B, 47 B-DRB1, 29 DRB1-DQB1, 24 A-B-DRB1, 38 A-Cw-B, 23 A-Cw-B-DRB1, 33 Cw-B-DRB1-DQB1 and 22 A-Cw-B-DRB1-DQB1 haplotypes with frequencies >0.5%. The most common two-, three-, four- and five-locus haplotypes in this population were: A*0207-B*4601 (7.34%), Cw*0102-B*4601 (8.71%), B*1302-DRB1*0701 (6.19%), DRB1*0901-DQB1*0303 (14.27%), A*3001-B*1302-DRB1*0701 (5.36%), A*0207-Cw*0102-B*4601 (7.06%), A*3001-Cw*0602-B*1302-DRB1*0701 (5.36%), Cw*0602-B*1302-DRB1*0701-DQB1*0202 (6.12%) and A*3001-Cw*0602-B*1302-DRB1*0701-DQB1*0202 (5.29%). Presentation of the high-resolution alleles and haplotypes data at HLA-A, -B, -Cw, -DRB1 and -DQB1 loci will be useful for HLA matching in transplantation as well as for other medical and anthropological applications in the Chinese population.

This study highlights the association between greater neighborhood cohesion and lower risk of overall self-neglect in Chinese-American older adults. Enhancing neighborhood cohesion may enhance elder self-neglect prevention and intervention.

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