Genetic ancestry and natural selection drive population differences in immune responses to pathogens in humans

ABSTRACT: Individuals from different populations vary considerably in their susceptibility to immune-related diseases. To understand how genetic variation and natural selection contribute to these differences, we tested for the effects of African versus European ancestry on the transcriptional response of primary macrophages to live bacterial pathogens. 12% of macrophage-expressed genes show ancestry-associated differences in the gene regulatory response to infection, and African ancestry specifically predicts a stronger inflammatory response and reduced intracellular bacterial growth. A large proportion of these differences are under genetic control: for 569 genes, more than 75% of ancestry effects on the immune response can be explained by a single cis- or trans-acting eQTL. Finally, we show that

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

SUBMITTER: Jenny Tung 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-81046 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress