[Hepatitis B markers in southern Altai inhabitants of the village of Mendur-Sokkon (the Republic of Altai). HBsAg subtyping in hepatitis B virus isolates with monoclonal antibodies]. / Markery virusnogo gepatita B u iuzhnykh altaitsev pos. Mendur-Sokkon (respublika Altai). Subtipirovanie HBsAg izoliatov BGB s pomoshch'iu monoklonal'nykh antitel.

Blood samples taken from 231 native inhabitants of the village of Mendur-Sokkon located in the Republic of Altai (South-Western Siberia, Russia) were tested for the presence of virus hepatitis B (HBV) markers. 31 samples (13.4%) were found to contain HBsAg, 111 samples (48.05%) were found to contain total anti-HBc antibodies, 123 samples (53.24%) were found to contain anti-HBs antibodies and 15 blood samples (6.49%), anti-HBc antibodies without anti-HBs antibodies and HBsAg. The age-dependent distribution of the occurrence of HBV markers among the aboriginal population of the South Altal remained unchanged (69.9 +/- 7.9%) for the last 50 years. The vertical and horizontal routes of HBV transmissions were noted. The data obtained in this study are indicative of a highly endemic character of HBV of the territory of Mendur-Sokkon. HBsAg-positive blood samples were taken for HBsAg subtyping with the use of a panel of monoclonal antibodies. Two subtypes of HBsAg were detected: ayw1-2 and ayw3varB with the occurrence of 92.6% and 7.4%, i.e. distributed in the ratio 25/2.

Nutrition, thyroid function and basal metabolism of the Evenki of central Siberia.

Considerable research has shown that indigenous circumpolar populations have elevated basal metabolic rates (BMR). Such elevations are likely promoted by changes in thyroid hormone levels; however, to date, this link between thyroid function and variation in BMR has not been explicitly demonstrated in an indigenous northern group. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine 1) the influence of dietary and nutritional factors on variation in thyroid hormone levels, and 2) the influence of thyroid levels on BMR in a sample of indigenous Siberian herders (the Evenki). Measures of body size and composition, dietary intake, thyroid hormones (total and free T3 and T4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and BMR were obtained for 60 adult subjects (19 males; 41 females) ranging in age from 18-56 years. Thyroid hormone levels in the Evenki were significantly correlated with measures of dietary intake and body composition. Among men, total T3 levels were positively correlated with body weight and fat-free mass (FFM), and negatively correlated with percent body fat; free T4 levels were positively correlated with dietary energy, protein and fat consumption. Among wo-men, there were no clear associations between body composition and thyroid levels; however, dietary energy and protein intakes were po-sitively correlated with total T4 and free T3 levels, respectively. Variation in thyroid hormone levels was associated with differences in BMR. In both sexes, deviations from predicted BMR were positively correlated with free T4 levels. These results demonstrate a link between thyroid hormones and elevated BMR in an indigenous circumpolar population. Further, they show the importance of dietary and nutritional factors for influencing thyroid function and, in turn, metabolic rates among such northern groups.

[Polymorphism of restriction sites of a control region of mitochondrial DNA in populations of Russian Old Believers and migrant slavic inhabitants of northern Siberia]. / Polimorfizm restriktsionnykh saitov kontrol'nogo raiona mitokhondrial'noi v populiatsiiakh Russkikh staroverov i prishlogo slavianskogo naseleniia severa Sibiri.

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was studied in restriction sites AvaII, BamHI, EcoRV, KpnI, HaeIII, and RsaI of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop in populations of Old Believers (Starovery) and in Slavic migrants in northern Siberia. Frequencies of rare variants of all polymorphic sites studied were estimated. The results were compared with the published data on mtDNA polymorphism sites studied were estimated. The results were compared with the published data on mtDNA polymorphism in Russian populations of central and southern Russia and in other Eastern Slavic, Caucasoid, and Mongolian populations. Significance of interpopulation differences with respect to distributions of variants of polymorphism sites was estimated with the use of the chi2 test. The comparison did not reveal significant differences between any groups of Eastern Slavs, including Old Believers. However, they significantly differed from both Mongols and Europeans (P < 0.05). To date, stable estimates of the polymorphism level in most of the restriction sites have been obtained for the Russian population. Regarding the distribution of the restriction-site variants of mtDNA, Russians significantly differ from the total European population, as well as from Mongols. In the populations of Old Believers, the effect of isolation on the diversity of the mitochondrial genome was demonstrated.

[Characteristics of the gene pool of Russian Old Believers in Siberia based on polymorphism of blood groups, isoenzymes, and blood proteins]. / Osobennosti genofonda Russkikh staroverov Sibiri na osnove izucheniia polimorfizma grupp krovi, izofermentov i syvorotochnykh belkov.

The frequency distributions of A1A2B0, Rhesus, MNSs, P, Duffy, Kell, Hp, Tf, AcP, PGM1 alleles, and haplotypes were studied in Siberian populations of Old Believers (Burnyi village, Krasnoyarskii krai, and Isetskii raion, Tyumenskaya oblast) and in ethnic Russians from Tyumenskaya oblast. Features characteristic of the genetic structure of these groups were revealed. The Siberian groups of Russians were shown to be genetically removed from European Russian populations (Tverskaya and Vologodskaya oblasts). The Burnyi population of Old Believers was significantly removed from the other groups of Russians due to peculiarities in the sample.

[Polymorphism of mitochondrial DNA in Northern Selkups]. / Polimorfizm mitokhondrial'noi DNK u Severnykh Sel'kupov.

The RFLPs detected by the AvaII, BamHI, EcoRV, KpnI, HaeIII, and RsaI restriction enzymes in the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA of the Northern Selkups were analyzed. Frequencies of the rare variants were estimated for all polymorphic sites examined. A total of 16 mitotypes were described. Results were compared with the literature data on mitochondrial DNA polymorphism in Caucasoid and Mongoloid populations. High frequency of the KpnI bp 16129 site loss (28.14%) together with a remarkably reduced number of mitotypes in the group of variants with the frequency of 2% compared to the Russians and Mongols, was considered to be the most informative population feature of the Northern Selkups. All variants found in the Selkups, occurred more frequently in the Mongols than in Russians. Four out of ten rare variants (frequency < 2%) observed in the Selkups were detected in Mongols and Russians. The frequency of three of these variants was higher in the Russian population. Six mitotypes were characterized as Selkup-specific. These observations suggest a considerable reduction of mitochondrial gene pool diversity in Northern Selkups compared to larger ethnic groups of Mongoloids and Caucasoids. The structure of mitochondrial genome in Selkups is defined by the presence of the major Mongoloid and minor Caucasoid components, which suggests complex ethnogeny of the contemporary Selkup population.

[Genetic analysis of the South Altaian population of the Mendur-Sokkon village, Altai Republic]. / Geneticheskii analiz struktury populiatsii iuzhnykh altaitsev pos. Mendur-Sokkon (Respublika Altai).

This study was a continuation of complex research on the gene pool of indigenous Siberian populations conducted at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences. In the population of South Altaians from the Mendur-Sokkon village, Ust'-Kanskii raion, Altai Republic, polymorphism for the following genetic markers was studied: blood groups ABO, MNSs, Rhesus, Kell, Duffy, and P; erythrocyte acid phosphatase (AcP); phosphoglucomutase 1 (PGM1); haptoglobin (Hp); and transferrin (Tf). The genetic position of South Altaians relative to the populations of the European part of Russia, Siberia, and the Urals was estimated. It was demonstrated that the gene pool of the South Altaian population of Mendur-Sokkon possessed both Caucasoid and Mongoloid genetic characteristics, with the latter prevailing. Genetically, this population is most closely related to Mongols and Nentsis. The genetic distance between South and North Altaians was large; this agreed with earlier genetic data and confirmed anthropological and ethnographic evidence indicating that these two groups had different backgrounds and were at different stages of ethnogenesis.

[Restriction-deletion polymorphism of mitochondrial DNA region V in some populations of aboriginal residents of Siberia and the Far East]. / Restriktsionno-deletsionnyi polimorfizm V raiona mitokhondrial'noi DNK v nekotorykh populiatsiiakh korennykh zhitelei Sibiri i dal'nego vostoka.

The distribution of a deletion and of an Ava II site in region V of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was studied in five populations of native inhabitants of the Asian part of Russia, including Chukchi, Asian Eskimos, Evenks, Buryats, and Northern Sel'kups. A deletion with a frequency of 6.3% was found only in Buryats, In Chukchi and Eskimos the AvaII site was not found. A maximal frequency of 11.3% was observed in the Evenks. A comparison with published data was conducted; it revealed a gradient of decreasing frequency of the deletion from Southeast Asia to the North, with its complete absence in the circumpolar regions. In the territory of northeast Asia, all three mitotypes are found, formed by a combination of two polymorphic markers of mtDNA region V, which were found earlier in humans in the New World. The data obtained necessitates a more detailed analysis of the population polymorphism of mtDNA in this region of Asia.