Uncovering genetic diversity and admixture of British Africans with HLA alleles inferred from whole genome sequencing.

ABSTRACT: The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region is highly diverse and plays a crucial role in immune regulation and antigen presentation. Accurate HLA typing is essential for understanding disease susceptibility, transplantation compatibility, and pharmacogenetics. However, its application in African descent populations is challenging due to complex linkage disequilibrium patterns and the lack of ancestry-matched populations in HLA reference panels. Here, we leveraged the latest whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data from UK Biobank African individuals to perform better HLA genotyping, and further utilized allelic and haplotypic data to explore population genetics patterns of this region. With WGS-inferred HLA alleles, we identified specific admixture patterns (predominant West and East African and m

SUBMITTER: Liu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12322232 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature