Prediction of HLA class II alleles using SNPs in an African population.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite the importance of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene locus in research and clinical practice, direct HLA typing is laborious and expensive. Furthermore, the analysis requires specialized software and expertise which are unavailable in most developing country settings. Recently, in silico methods have been developed for predicting HLA alleles using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). However, the utility of these methods in African populations has not been systematically evaluated.

Methodology/principal findings

In the present study, we investigate prediction of HLA class II (HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1) alleles using SNPs in the Wolaita population, southern Ethiopia. The subjects comprised 297 Ethiopians with genome-wide SNP data, of whom 188 had also be

SUBMITTER: Tekola Ayele F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3386230 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature