Genetic diversity of HLA system in seven populations from Veracruz, Mexico: Veracruz city, Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Orizaba, Poza Rica, Xalapa and rural Veracruz

Abstract

We studied HLA class I (HLA-A, -B) and class II (HLA-DRB1, -DQB1) alleles by PCR-SSP based typing in 1113 Mexicans from the state of Veracruz living in the cities of Coatzacoalcos (N = 55), Orizaba (N = 60), Córdoba (N = 56), Poza Rica (N = 45), Veracruz (N = 171), Xalapa (N = 187) and rural communities (N = 539) to obtain information regarding allelic and haplotypic frequencies. We found that the most frequent haplotypes include 12 Native American haplotypes. Admixture estimates revealed that the main genetic components are Native American (64.93 ± 1.27% by ML; 55.10% of Native American haplotypes) and European (26.56 ± 0.89% by ML; 28.38% of European haplotypes), and a relatively high African genetic component (8.52 ± 1.82% by ML; 8.78% of African haplotypes).

Keywords: Admixture; HLA; Immunogenetics; Population genetics; Veracruz.