The cord blood glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) enzyme activity of 262 normal term Malaysian neonates (92 Malays, 96 Chinese and 74 Indians) was quantitatively determined by the World Health Organisation method. Analysis of variance for the levels of G6PD enzyme activity by ethnic origin and sex showed that there was a significant difference between mean levels of enzyme activity in the three ethnic groups (P = 0.03) but no difference between the sexes (P = 0.36). Multiple range analysis showed that Malays had significantly higher mean levels of G6PD enzyme activity than those of Chinese (P = 0.01). There was no significant difference between the mean levels of G6PD enzyme activity of Chinese and Indians (P = 0.52), nor was there any difference between those of Malays and Indians (P = 0.08). The difference in levels of G6PD enzyme activity among the different ethnic groups could be due to the existence of different G6PD variants.
The jungle habitat of the Temuan aborigines harbors a variety of infectious diseases, the most notable being malaria. Our study of 15 genetic systems in the Temuan revealed substantial polymorphism and within-population genetic diversity. The polymorphisms for Hb beta, G6PD, and El are of interest in regard to genetic adaptation to malaria. Among the polymorphisms investigated we conclude that G6PD deficiency and elliptocytosis are likely to have malaria-resistant effects as evidenced by their low association with malarial parasitemia or their higher frequency in adults than in children. These findings suggest that the malarial habitat of the Temuans is livable in the long range sense for them because of the cluster of malaria-resistant alleles in their gene pool (G6PD)-, El, and possibly, but not tested here because of its low frequency, Hb beta E). The same condition probably holds for the Semai, the nearest aborigine neighbors of the Temuan (although the Semai have not been tested for malarial parasitemia and for these polymorphisms simultaneously), since the Semai have substantial Hb betaE, G6PD-, and El. The Temuan have a cultural identity system of rituals, beliefs, and certain aspects of language which effectively isolates them genetically from Malays and other nonaborigines. This system hinders the dilution of the malaria-resistant alleles of the Temuan gene pool with the malaria-susceptible alleles of the nonaborigine gene pools.
We performed DNA analysis on cord blood samples of 128 Chinese male neonates diagnosed as G6PD deficiency in Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia by a combination PCR-restriction enzyme digest technique, Single Stranded Conformation Polymorphism analysis and DNA sequencing. We found 10 different G6PD-deficient mutations exist. The two commonest alleles were G6PD Canton 1376 G>T (42.3%) and Kaiping 1388 G>A (39.4%) followed by G6PD Gaohe 592 G>A (7.0%), Chinese-5 1024 C>T, Nankang 517 T>C (1.5%), Mahidol 487 G>A (1.6%), Chatham 1003 G>T (0.8%), Union 1360 C>T (0.8%), Viangchan 871 G>A (0.8%) and Quing Yang 392 G>T (0.8%). Sixty eight percent (88/125) neonates in this study had neonatal jaundice and 29.7% developed hyperbilirubinemia >250 micromol/l. The incidence of hyperbilirubinemia >250 micromol/l was higher in G6PD Kaiping (43.8%) than G6PD Canton (22%) (p< 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of neonatal jaundice, mean serum bilirubin, mean age for peak serum bilirubin, percentage of babies requiring phototherapy and mean duration of phototherapy between the two major variants. None of the 88 neonates required exchange transfusion. In conclusion we have completely characterized the molecular defects of a group of Chinese G6PD deficiency in Malaysia. The mutation distribution reflects the original genetic pool and limited ethnic admixture with indigenous Malays.
A population genetic study was undertaken to provide gene frequency data on the additional blood genetic markers in the Semai and to estimate the genetic relations between the Semai and their neighboring and linguistically related populations by genetic distance and principal components analyses. Altogether 10 polymorphic and 7 monomorphic blood genetic markers (plasma proteins and red cell enzymes) were studied in a group of 349 Senoi Semai from 11 aboriginal settlements (villages) in the Pahang State of western Malaysia. Both the red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (PGD) loci reveal the presence of polymorphic frequencies of a nondeficient slow allele at the G6PD locus and a fast allele at the PGD locus. The Semai are characterized by high prevalences of ahaptoglobinemia and G6PD deficiency, high frequencies of HP*1, HB*E, RH*R1, ACP*C, GLO1*1, PGM1*2+, and GC*1F and corresponding low frequencies of ABO*A, HbCoSp, HB*B0, TF*D, CHI, and GC*2. Genetic distance analyses by both cluster and principal components models were performed between the Semai and 14 other populations (Malay; Javanese; Khmer; Veddah; Tamils of Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and India; Sinhalese; Oraon; Toda and Irula of India; Chinese; Japanese; Koreans) on the basis of 30 alleles at 7 polymorphic loci. A more detailed analysis using 53 alleles at 13 polymorphic loci with 10 populations was carried out. Both analyses give genetic evidence of a close relationship between the Semai and the Khmer of Cambodia. Furthermore, the Semai are more closely related to the Javanese than to their close neighbors--the Malay, Chinese, and Tamil Indians. There is no evidence for close genetic relationship between the Semai and the Veddah or other Indian tribes. The evidence fits well with the linguistic relationship of the Semai with the Mon-Khmer branch of the Austro-Asiatic language family.