Analysis of TPI gene promoter variation in three sub-Saharan Africa population samples

• Published in: American journal of human biology Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. 118 - 120
• Main Authors: Manco, Licínio, Machado, Patrícia, Lopes, Dinora, Nogueira, Fátima, Do Rosário, Virgílio E., Alonso, Pedro L., Varandas, Luís, De Jesus Trovoada, Maria, Amorim, António, Arez, Ana Paula
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.01.2009
• Subjects: Africa South of the Sahara; Female; Genetic Variation; Haplotypes; Humans; Malaria - genetics; Male; Population Groups - genetics; Portugal; Promoter Regions, Genetic - genetics; Triose-Phosphate Isomerase - genetics; Africa South of the Sahara; Portugal
• ISSN: 1042-0533; 1520-6300; 1520-6300
• DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.20819

Population samples from Angola, Mozambique, and S. Tomé e Príncipe were screened for the TPI gene promoter variants ‐5A→G, ‐8G→A and ‐24T→G. Three haplotypes were identified in the three populations: the haplotype ‐5A‐8G‐24T (average frequency 65.3%) and two less common haplotypes ‐5G‐8G‐24T (average frequency 24.7%) and ‐5G‐8A‐24T (average frequency 10.0%). A population sample from Central Portugal showed the haplotype ‐5A‐8G‐24T in 139 chromosomes and one subject heterozygous for haplotype ‐5G‐8A‐24G. The exact test of sample differentiation among three groups of malaria‐infected individuals classified according to the severity of the disease showed no significant differences. We confirmed TPI gene diversity in sub‐Saharan Africa, but we could not detect any association between TPI promoter variation and a malarial protective effect. Larger scale epidemiological studies are thus required to clarify this putative mechanism of natural host defense against this worldwide public health problem. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.