Correlation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR-γ) mRNA expression with Pro12Ala polymorphism in obesity.

Our study aimed to analyze whether the expression of PPARγ mRNA in subcutaneous adipocyte tissue correlates with Pro12Ala PPARγ2 polymorphism in the obesity context. We found that mRNA expression of PPARγ in subcutaneous adipose tissue was greater in obese subjects (P < 0.05) than in the nonobese control group.

Genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes: a global meta-analysis studying the genetic differences in Tunisian populations.

The present study is the first meta-analysis to evaluate type 2 diabetes (T2D)- associated polymorphisms in cohorts originated from several Tunisian regions. In fact, we evaluated the effect of seven polymorphisms in the following genes-PPARg (Pro12Ala), TNFα (-308A/G), ENPP1(K121Q), TCF7L2(rs7903146°C/T), MTHFR(C677T), ACE(I/D), and CAPN10(3R/2R)-on T2D risk, through a meta-analysis combining data of previous studies performed on Tunisian populations originating from the north, center, or south of the country. R statistics version 2.

Human Alu insertion polymorphisms in North African populations.

Several features make Alu insertions a powerful tool used in population genetic studies: the polymorphic nature of many Alu insertions, the stability of an Alu insertion event and, furthermore, the ancestral state of an Alu insertion is known to be the absence of the Alu element at a particular locus and the presence of an Alu insertion at the site that forward mutational change. This study analyses seven Alu insertion polymorphisms in a sample of 297 individuals from the autochthonous population of Tunisia (Thala, Smar, Zarzis, and Bou Salem) and Libya with the aim of studying their genetic structure with respect to the populations of North Africa, Western, Eastern and Central Europe. The comparative analyses carried out using the MDS and AMOVA methods reveal the existence of spatial heterogeneity, and identify four population groups.

Mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome microstructure in Tunisia.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome variation has been studied in Bou Omrane and Bou Saâd, two Tunisian Berber populations. In spite of their close geographic proximity, genetic distances between them were high and significant with both uniparental markers. A global analysis, including all previously studied Tunisian samples, confirmed the existence of a high female and male population structure in this country.

A3243G mitochondrial DNA mutation in Tunisian diabetic population.

Background: An excess of maternal transmission of adult onset diabetes mellitus has been observed in the studied Tunisian patients, in fact, diabetic patients with affected mother are significantly more important than those with affected father (p< 10-6) There is increasing evidence that mtDNA mutations may be involved in this disease, since mitochondrial transmission offers a plausible explanation for a proportion of this maternal excess comparing to paternal transmission.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the mitochondrial DNA involvement in the inheritance of diabetes in Tunisian population and to evaluate the frequency of substitution A3243G in these patients.

Methods: In the current study we investigated for the first time, the 3243 mtDNA in 280 Tunisian diabetic patients.

Study of TNFalpha -308G/A and IL6 -174G/C polymorphisms in type 2 diabetes and obesity risk in the Tunisian population.

Objectives: We investigated two genetic markers in pro inflammatory molecules : TNFalpha -308G/A and IL6 -174G/C in order to assess their effect on type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity in the Tunisian population.

Design And Methods: The study sample includes 228 patients with T2D and 300 healthy controls. Genotyping of IL6 -174G/C (rs1800795) was performed using Automated Dye Terminator Sequencing and of TNFalpha -308G/A (rs1800629) using the LightTyper technology.

Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup H structure in North Africa.

Background: The Strait of Gibraltar separating the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa is thought to be a stronger barrier to gene flow for male than for female lineages. However, the recent subdivision of the haplogroup H at mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) level has revealed greater genetic differentiation among geographic regions than previously detected. The dissection of the mtDNA haplogroup H in North Africa, and its comparison with the Iberian Peninsula and Near-East profiles would help clarify the relative affinities among these regions.

Alu polymorphisms in Jerba Island population (Tunisia): comparative study in Arab and Berber groups.

Jerba Island represents an interesting area because four distinct ethnic groups have been cohabiting there until now: Arabs, Berbers, dark-skinned people of sub-Saharan origin and Jews. Religious and cultural differences seem to have constituted an obstacle to their intermixing. Our aim is to provide further information on the genetic structure of the Arab and Berber groups for whom previous data based on haploid markers confirmed their reproductive isolation.

Islands inside an island: reproductive isolates on Jerba island.

Jerba Island, located in South Eastern Tunisia, is inhabited by four ethnic groups: Berbers, Arabs, sub-Saharans, and Jews. All live in distinct areas, although the Arabs are also distributed all over the island. The first Arab settlement was founded in the 7th century A.

Female gene pools of Berber and Arab neighboring communities in central Tunisia: microstructure of mtDNA variation in North Africa.

North African populations are considered genetically closer to Eurasians than to sub-Saharans. However, they display a considerably high mtDNA heterogeneity among them, namely in the frequencies of the U6, East African, and sub-Saharan haplogroups. In this study, we describe and compare the female gene pools of two neighboring Tunisian populations, Kesra (Berber) and Zriba (non-Berber), which have contrasting historical backgrounds.