HLA-DRB1* and DQB1* allele and haplotype diversity in eight tribal populations: Global affinities and genetic basis of diseases in South India.

The distribution of HLA class-II DRB1* and DQB1* alleles/ haplotypes were studied in 438 individuals of 8 Dravidian tribal groups inhabiting the Western Ghats, south India. The HLA typing was performed by PCR-SSP method. In order to identify the 5-locus Ancestral Extended Haplotypes (AEH), the alleles of HLA-A, -B and -C loci were typed for DNAs with predominant 2-locus haplotypes. The analyses have revealed allele HLA-DRB1*15 as the most predominant allele (Lowest / Highest range: Urali, 14.81 / Malasar, 48.94), followed by the alleles DRB1*10 (Katunayakan, 1.85 / Paliyan, 48.21), DRB1*14 (Paliyan 4.46 / Katunayakan, 40.74), DRB1*12 (Mannan, 1.64 / Katunayakan, 20.37) and DRB1*03 (Mannan, 1.64 / Urali, 29.63). The most frequent DQB1* alleles were DQB1*02 (Paliyan 3.57 / Urali, 23.15), DQB1*05 (Katunayakan, 27.77 / Paliyan 84.82) and DQB1*06 (Malasar, 8.51 / Kuruman, 33.51). The most predominant two-locus haplotypes observed were DRB1*15-DQB1*05, DRB1*10-DQB1*05, DRB1*15-DQB1*06 and DRB1*04-DQB1*05. The present study of HLA immunogenetics of south Indian tribes have revealed the presence of globally shared two and 5-locus haplotypes. Many of these haplotypes were implicated in a number of diseases in south India. We observed the presence of ancestral extended haplotypes (AEHs), hitherto not reported in Indian populations such as, A*68-B*35-C*02-DRB1*15:01-DQB1*05:01, A*24-B*57-C*06-DRB1*04:01-DQB1*05:01 and A*24-B*35-C*02-DRB1*15:01-DQB1*05:02. The dendrogram based phylogenetic analyses have revealed the Caucasian affinity of Urali, palaeo-Mediterranean and Indo-European affinity of Malasar tribes. The presence of globally shared susceptible and protective haplotypes reiterated the mosaic immunogenetic fabric of south Indian tribes.

Association of HLA class II alleles/haplotypes and amino acid variations in the peptide binding pockets with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune, inflammatory disease, caused by environmental and genetic factors. AIM: To elucidate the association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1*/DQB1* alleles/haplotypes and the variations of polymorphic amino acid changes in peptide binding pockets in RA patients from south India. METHODS: HLA typing was performed in 176 RA patients and 176 healthy controls by polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primers method. RESULTS: Strong susceptible association for alleles such as DRB1*04:01(odds ratio [OR] = 3.66), 04:06 (OR = 3.81), 03:01 (OR = 2.93), 06:01 (OR = 2.53) and protective association for alleles such as DRB1*13:01 (OR = 0.17), 14:01 (OR = 0.15), 05:02 (OR = 0.17), and 05:03 (OR = 0.338) were observed in RA patients. The 2-locus haplotypes such as 04-02:01 (OR = 3.844), 04-06:01 (OR = 6.57), 07-03:01 (OR = 6.16), 07-06:01 (OR = 3.42), 12-06:01 (OR = 5.24), 15-03:01 (OR = 4.69) with susceptible and DRB1*14-DQB1*05:03 (OR = 0.078) with protective associations were observed in RA patients. The acid-base analysis revealed that the basic group BB allele was positively associated (OR = 2.372) and the acidic group AA allele was negatively associated (OR = 0.086). The analysis on shared epitopes has revealed that the combination QKRAA+, (Q)RRAA+ or (Q)RRAA- was positively associated with RA (OR = 2.78). The amino acid variation at HLA-DQß molecule revealed susceptible associations for residues E86 and L87 (P1); E74 (P3); A13 , Y26 , I/S28 , T28 , I71 and E74 (P4); L9 , T30 , D37 and D57 (P9), whereas, the amino acids A86 and T87 (P1); S74 (P3); G13/26 , A71 and S74 (P4); H30 and T37 , S57 (P9), showed protective associations. CONCLUSIONS: Alleles DRB1*04:06 and*04:01 showed strong susceptible and DRB1*13:01 and *14:01 showed protective associations in RA patients. The amino acid variations in DQß molecules revealed significant molecular markers for susceptibility to and protection from RA in south India.

Diversity and association of HLA/KIR receptors with type 2 diabetes in South India.

The present study was undertaken to delineate the association(s) of KIR-HLA combination in South Indian Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. The T2DM patients (n = 343) and healthy controls (n = 309) were genotyped for KIR/HLA ligands by PCR-SSP method. The increased frequency of activatory KIR (aKIR) 2DS2 (OR = 1.91; p < 2.91 × 10-4 ) was observed in patients suggesting a susceptible association. The frequencies of iKIR 2DL2 (OR = 0.38; p < 1.55 × 10-5 ) and aKIRs 2DS1 (OR = 0.60; p < 0.001) and 3DS1 (OR = 0.52; p < 5.83 × 10-5 ) were decreased in patients suggesting protective associations. The C1/C2 combinatorial analysis has revealed an increased frequency of C1+ /C2- in T2DM patients (OR = 1.62; p < 0.014). The KIR "AB" genotype (OR = 2.41; p < 3.87 × 10-5 ) was observed to be higher in patients. However, the "BB" genotype (OR = 0.32; p < 4.71 × 10-7 ) was increased in controls. The KIR motifs, "Tel-B/B" (OR = 1.84; p < 0.007), were observed higher among patients. However, the frequency of "Tel-A/B" motif genotype was decreased in patients (OR = 0.56; p < 3.13 × 10-4 ). The iKIR/HLA combinations such as 2DL2/3 +C1 and 3DL2+A3/A11 were increased in patients (OR = 3.90; p < 7.5 × 10-5 ) suggesting susceptible associations. On the contrary, the aKIR+HLA combinations such as 2DS2+C1, 2DS1+C2 and 3DS1+Bw4 were less frequent in patients (OR = 0.32; p < 4.2 × 10-4 ) suggesting protective associations. Thus, the present study clearly establishes the positive and negative associations of different KIR-HLA receptor combinations with T2DM in South India.

Correction: Polymorphic Alu Insertion/Deletion in Different Caste and Tribal Populations from South India.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157468.].

Association of HLA-A, B, DRB1* and DQB1* alleles and haplotypes in south Indian T2DM patients.

The genes of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) system are implicated in the susceptibility of several diseases including Type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association of HLA alleles with T2DM in south India. A total of 344 patients (195 males; 149 females) and 309 controls (186 males; 123 females) were genotyped for HLA-DR/-DQ alleles. Based on predominant DR/DQ haplotypes, 222 patients and 222 age/sex matched controls were HLA-A/-B genotyped. HLA alleles were typed by PCR-SSP methods. Susceptible association was observed for the alleles A*33 (OR=13.8), A*01 (OR=3.69), A*02 (OR=2.91), B*07 (OR=4.12), DRB1*11 (OR=2.23), DRB1*04 (OR=1.51), DRB1*03 (OR=1.90) and DQB1*02 (OR=1.49). Protective association was observed for the alleles A*11 (OR=0.59), A*68 (OR=0.68), B*40 (OR=0.50), B*54 (OR=0.42), B*57 (OR=0.31), B*51 (OR=0.29) and DRB1*10 (OR=0.45). Gender stratified analysis too confirmed many of these associations. Predominant susceptible haplotypes were A*33-B*40 (OR=10.27), A*01-B*07 (OR=4.97), A*02-B*07 (OR=6.50), DRB1*03-DQB1*05 (OR=1.88), DRB1*03-DQB1*06 (OR=3.01), DRB1*04-DQB1*05 (2.63), A*01-B*07-DRB1*10 (OR=8.26) and A*11-B*35-DRB1*07 (OR=9.338). Haplotypes A*03-B*07 (OR=0.57; p<0.034) and DRB1*10-DQB1*05 (OR=0.57; p<0.033) were protectively associated. Further, a very strong susceptible association was documented for four-locus haplotypes such as A*11-B*40-DRB1*15-DQB1*06 (n=15; OR=16.01; p<0.001); A*01-B*07-DRB1*10-DQB1*05 (n=8; OR=8.26; p<0.043) and A*11-B*07-DRB1*07-DQB1*05 (n=8; OR=8.26; p<0.043). Thus, a number of HLA alleles and haplotypes showed susceptible and protective association(s) in T2DM patients from south India.

MTHFR (C677T) CT genotype and CT-apoE3/3 genotypic combination predisposes the risk of ischemic stroke.

The predisposition to ischemic stroke (IS) might involve interactions of several genes and environmental factors. The present study was aimed to evaluate the influence of polymorphisms in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR-C677T) and apolipoprotein-E (apo-E) as risk factors for IS patients in south Indian population. 200 IS patients and 193 age and sex matched controls were genotyped for MTHFR-C677T and apoE by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Statistically significant association was observed for MTHFR CT genotype (IS-Pooled: OR=4.29; p=5.01×10(-5); IS-Males: OR=4.13; p=0.001; IS-Females: OR=8.62; p=0.027; IS-Large Vessel Disease (LVD)- Pooled: OR=4.14; p=0.0002) and T allele (IS-Pooled: OR=4.82; p=1.49×10(-5); IS-Males: OR=4.33; p=0.0002; IS-Females: OR=7.99; p=0.031; IS-LVD-Pooled: OR=4.13; p=0.0001). Further, reduced frequencies of CC genotype (IS-Pooled: OR=0.20; p=9.80×10(-6); IS-Males: OR=0.25; p=0.001; IS-Females: OR=0.12; p=0.027; IS-LVD-Pooled: OR=0.23; p=0.0001) and C allele (IS-Pooled: OR=0.21; p=1.49×10(-5); IS-Males: OR=0.23; p=0.0002; IS-Females: OR=0.13; p=0.031; IS-LVD-Pooled: OR=0.24; p=0.0001) were observed in IS patients than the controls. No association was observed for apoE genotypes/alleles in IS/LVD cases. Our study demonstrated the presence of risk for MTHFR CT genotype/T allele and 'CT-3/3' (n=33 vs. 5; OR=7.42; p=0.001) genotypic combination in the development of IS in south India. Further, follow-up study of these stroke cases i.e., in later stages of the disease whether they are developing the neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) is needed to draw a fruitful conclusion in connection between neurological disorders and with these two polymorphisms, before translating it into clinical practice.

Polymorphic Alu Insertion/Deletion in Different Caste and Tribal Populations from South India.

Seven human-specific Alu markers were studied in 574 unrelated individuals from 10 endogamous groups and 2 hill tribes of Tamil Nadu and Kerala states. DNA was isolated, amplified by PCR-SSP, and subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis, and genotypes were assigned for various Alu loci. Average heterozygosity among caste populations was in the range of 0.292-0.468. Among tribes, the average heterozygosity was higher for Paliyan (0.3759) than for Kani (0.2915). Frequency differences were prominent in all loci studied except Alu CD4. For Alu CD4, the frequency was 0.0363 in Yadavas, a traditional pastoral and herd maintaining population, and 0.2439 in Narikuravars, a nomadic gypsy population. The overall genetic difference (Gst) of 12 populations (castes and tribes) studied was 3.6%, which corresponds to the Gst values of 3.6% recorded earlier for Western Asian populations. Thus, our study confirms the genetic similarities between West Asian populations and South Indian castes and tribes and supported the large scale coastal migrations from Africa into India through West Asia. However, the average genetic difference (Gst) of Kani and Paliyan tribes with other South Indian tribes studied earlier was 8.3%. The average Gst of combined South and North Indian Tribes (CSNIT) was 9.5%. Neighbor joining tree constructed showed close proximity of Kani and Paliyan tribal groups to the other two South Indian tribes, Toda and Irula of Nilgiri hills studied earlier. Further, the analysis revealed the affinities among populations and confirmed the presence of North and South India specific lineages. Our findings have documented the highly diverse (micro differentiated) nature of South Indian tribes, predominantly due to isolation, than the endogamous population groups of South India. Thus, our study firmly established the genetic relationship of South Indian castes and tribes and supported the proposed large scale ancestral migrations from Africa, particularly into South India through West Asian corridor.