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Analysis of the Origin of Emiratis as Inferred from a Family Study Based on HLA-A, -C, -B, -DRB1, and -DQB1 Genes

Al Yafei Z 1 , Hajjej A 2 , Alvares M 1 , Al Mahri A 1 , Nasr A 3 , Mirghani R 4 Show all authors , Al Obaidli A 5 , Al Seiari M 5 , Mack SJ 6 , Askar M 7 , Edinur HA 8 , Almawi WY 9 , ElGhazali G 1

Affiliations 

  • 1 Sheikh Khalifa Medical City-Union71-Purehealth, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 51900, United Arab Emirates
  • 2 Department of Immunogenetics, National Blood Transfusion Center, Tunis P.O. Box 1006, Tunisia
  • 3 College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh P.O. Box 22490, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Higher College of Technology, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 25026, United Arab Emirates
  • 5 SEHA Kidney Care, SEHA, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 92900, United Arab Emirates
  • 6 Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, Oakland, CA 94609, USA
  • 7 Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
  • 8 School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, Kubang Kerian 16150, Kelantan, Malaysia
  • 9 Faculty of Sciences, El-Manar University, Tunis P.O. Box 94, Tunisia
Genes (Basel), 2023 May 26;14(6).
PMID: 37372339 DOI: 10.3390/genes14061159

Abstract

In this study, we investigated HLA class I and class II allele and haplotype frequencies in Emiratis and compared them to those of Asian, Mediterranean, and Sub-Saharan African populations.

METHODS: Two-hundred unrelated Emirati parents of patients selected for bone marrow transplantation were genotyped for HLA class I (A, B, C) and class II (DRB1, DQB1) genes using reverse sequence specific oligonucleotide bead-based multiplexing. HLA haplotypes were assigned with certainty by segregation (pedigree) analysis, and haplotype frequencies were obtained by direct counting. HLA class I and class II frequencies in Emiratis were compared to data from other populations using standard genetic distances (SGD), Neighbor-Joining (NJ) phylogenetic dendrograms, and correspondence analysis.

RESULTS: The studied HLA loci were in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. We identified 17 HLA-A, 28 HLA-B, 14 HLA-C, 13 HLA-DRB1, and 5 HLA-DQB1 alleles, of which HLA-A*02 (22.2%), -B*51 (19.5%), -C*07 (20.0%), -DRB1*03 (22.2%), and -DQB1*02 (32.8%) were the most frequent allele lineages. DRB1*03~DQB1*02 (21.2%), DRB1*16~DQB1*05 (17.3%), B*35~C*04 (11.7%), B*08~DRB1*03 (9.7%), A*02~B*51 (7.5%), and A*26~C*07~B*08~DRB1*03~DQB1*02 (4.2%) were the most frequent two- and five-locus HLA haplotypes. Correspondence analysis and dendrograms showed that Emiratis were clustered with the Arabian Peninsula populations (Saudis, Omanis and Kuwaitis), West Mediterranean populations (North Africans, Iberians) and Pakistanis, but were distant from East Mediterranean (Turks, Albanians, Greek), Levantine (Syrians, Palestinians, Lebanese), Iranian, Iraqi Kurdish, and Sub-Saharan populations.

CONCLUSIONS: Emiratis were closely related to Arabian Peninsula populations, West Mediterranean populations and Pakistanis. However, the contribution of East Mediterranean, Levantine Arab, Iranian, and Sub-Saharan populations to the Emiratis' gene pool appears to be minor.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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