Allele frequencies of human leukocyte antigen‐G in a Korean population

Abstract

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G is a nonclassical major histocompatibility complex class I molecule with relatively limited polymorphism. The differences in allele frequency according to ethnicity and country have not been studied enough, so far. Therefore, fundamental data including allele frequencies and polymorphism are needed for studies on immunological function of HLA-G in each population. We investigated allele frequencies and 14-bp polymorphism of the HLA-G in Koreans. HLA-G alleles and 14-bp polymorphisms were determined by sequence-based typing analysis of exons 2-4 and polymerase chain reaction of exon 8 in 200 unrelated individuals. Genotyping analysis identified eight different HLA-G alleles, which indicates that the Korean population presents limited HLA-G allelic polymorphism. HLA-G*01:01:01:01 and G*01:04:01 were frequent alleles (42.5% and 34.0%), and allelic frequencies were similar to those of other Asian populations. The 14-bp deletion alleles are higher (78%) in Koreans, although the frequencies of the 14-bp insertion/deletion polymorphism have been known to be nearly equal in many Caucasian populations. HLA-G*01:01:08 was reported strong linkage disequilibrium with the 14-bp deletion in a previous report; the same allele was accompanied with 14-bp insertion in our study. There are a few studies investigating allele frequencies, and most of them were studied before high-resolution method era. This is the first study regarding HLA-G genotypes in Korean, which were identified by high-resolution method. From this study, we identified HLA-G frequencies of a Korean population and expect this study could help further investigations for immunological and clinical implications of HLA-G.

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“…The fact that it is the most frequent allele in almost all populations [96] suggests that perhaps it has had a selective advantage over the course of human evolution that extends beyond HIV-1 infection. G Ã 01 : 04:04 differs from G Ã 01 : 01:01 by a mutation at codon 110 (CTC !…”

The mystery of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): Why is it absent in Asians and what does this tell us about etiology, pathogenesis and biology?

“…Studies in persons of predominately European decent with CLL report expression of HLA-G and a 14 bp insertion or deletion polymorphism of exon 8 correlates with prognosis [50,51]. This polymorphism has different frequencies in Asians and persons of predominately European descent which may reflect evolutionary background or environmental effects [50,52,53]. Further studies are needed.…”

Non-Classical Human Leukocyte Antigen-G Allelic Diversity Among North Indians

“…All the 13 different populations selected, representing different ethnicities were in HWE. The populations considered for finding the global landscape of HLA-G alleles were from Brazil (Parana ethnicity), 15 Sao Paulo, 16 Germany, 17 Ghana, 18 Poland, 19 South Korea, 20 Spain, 17 USA African American, 21 Zambia, 21 Iraq, 22 USA Hutterite, 23 and Denmark 24 along with the present study. The alleles found in these populations were G*01:01:01, G*01:01:03, G*01:01:04, G*01:01:05, G*01:01:06, G*01:01:08, G*01:04:03, G*01:04:04, G*01:01, G*01:03, and G*01:04.…”