Genetic diversity of HLA system in two populations from Quintana Roo, Mexico: Cancún and rural Quintana Roo

Abstract

We studied HLA class I (HLA-A, -B) and class II (HLA-DRB1, -DQB1) alleles by PCR-SSP based typing in 98 Mexicans from the state of Quintana Roo living in the city of Cancún (N = 48) and rural communities (N = 50), to obtain information regarding allelic and haplotypic frequencies and their linkage disequilibrium. We found that the most frequent haplotypes in Quintana Roo include ten Native American and two European haplotypes. Admixture estimates revealed that the main genetic components in Quintana Roo are Native American (80.85 ± 3.70% by ML; 60.20% of Native American haplotypes) and European (15.19 ± 14.25% by ML; 26.02% of European haplotypes), and a less prominent African genetic component (3.96 ± 10.75% by ML; 6.63% of African haplotypes).

Keywords: Admixture; HLA; Immunogenetics; Population genetics; Quintana Roo.