Mitochondrial DNA lineages of Italian Giara and Sarcidano horses.

Giara and Sarcidano are 2 of the 15 extant native Italian horse breeds with limited dispersal capability that originated from a larger number of individuals. The 2 breeds live in two distinct isolated locations on the island of Sardinia. To determine the genetic structure and evolutionary history of these 2 Sardinian breeds, the first hypervariable segment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was sequenced and analyzed in 40 Giara and Sarcidano horses and compared with publicly available mtDNA data from 43 Old World breeds. Four different analyses, including genetic distance, analysis of molecular variance, haplotype sharing, and clustering methods, were used to study the genetic relationships between the Sardinian and other horse breeds. The analyses yielded similar results, and the FST values indicated that a high percentage of the total genetic variation was explained by between-breed differences. Consistent with their distinct phenotypes and geographic isolation, the two Sardinian breeds were shown to consist of 2 distinct gene pools that had no gene flow between them. Giara horses were clearly separated from the other breeds examined and showed traces of ancient separation from horses of other breeds that share the same mitochondrial lineage. On the other hand, the data from the Sarcidano horses fit well with variation among breeds from the Iberian Peninsula and North-West Europe: genetic relationships among Sarcidano and the other breeds are consistent with the documented history of this breed.

[Correlation between major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-class II and type 1 diabetes]. / Correlazione fra MHC di classe II e diabete mellito di tipo 1.

The autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from a T lymphocyte-dependent, selective destruction of the insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cells and subsequent irreversible insulin deficiency. The disease is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Numerous genetic, structural and biological studies have provided a convincing case that in human T1D and in its murine model, the non obese diabetes (NOD) mouse, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules, HLA-DQB1 and -DRB1 and their murine orthologues, IA and IE, are the major genetic determinants. The two loci act as a complex superlocus, with both haplotype- and genotype-specific effects. In humans the HLA class II molecule-association with the disease is constituted by a two-sided gradient from positively associated-high risk to negatively associated-low risk molecules. Very low risk corresponds to dominant protection from the disease. The protein structure of DQ/IA and DR/IE molecules have been established. Molecular modeling work revealed that there are marked similarities both within, and cross species between T1D protective class II molecules. Likewise, the T1D predisposing molecules show conserved similarities that differ with the shared structural patterns observed between the protective molecules. The available data provide evidence for a joint action of the class II peptide-binding pockets P1, P4 and P9 in disease susceptibility and resistance with a main role for P9 in DQ/IA and for P1 and P4 in DR/IE. Overall these observations suggest shared pathways in human and murine T1D.