International Union for Circumpolar Health Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of RF Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences Medical Polar Fund “Science” The Northern Forum

Abstracts

Genetics, demography, anthropology

Introduction: Current progress in understanding of the genetic basis of common diseases allows using the genetic information for explaining past and present trends of their prevalence in different populations and predicting future directions of the changes in epidemiological situation. North Asian native populations are especially interesting in this respect as their genetic background formed in the past in very divers environmental conditions and at present they are subjected to very strong social-cultural pressure from urban newcomer populations.

Study design and methods: Polymorphism of 15 autosomal genes, considered at present as candidates for prevalent chronic and infectious diseases, was studied in 16 ethnic groups of North Asia, presenting all major linguistic families of the region. Traditional living areas of studied ethnic groups cover the whole range of environmental conditions from Central Asia to Circumpolar zone and from West Siberia to the Pacific Shore. The list of studied genes includes (chemokine receptors CCR2 and CCR5, apolipoproteins E and B, genes of dopaminergic system - DAT, DRD4 and some others.

Results: The obtained data indicate that native populations of North Asia considered previously in global scale as rather homogenous genetic group actually significantly differ from each other. The sharp differences in genotypes and allele frequencies of most studied genes exist between Finno-Ugrian and other North Asian natives, between Central Asian and North-East Asian mongoloids. All of them in many respects differ from Oriental and South-East Asian mongoloids.

Conclusion: The obtained molecular-genetic data testify that North Asian natives present genetically heterogeneous groups differing from East Asian mongoloids. The data on polymorphism of studied genes allow drawing first conclusions on the peculiarities of the predisposition of studied populations to some common infectious and noninfectious diseases.

Note. Abstracts are published in author's edition

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Last update: 06-Jul-2012 (11:52:05)