Carriers of the Complex Allele HFE c.[187C>G;340+4T>C] Have Increased Risk of Iron Overload in São Miguel Island Population (Azores, Portugal).

Iron overload is associated with acquired and genetic conditions, the most common being hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) type-I, caused by HFE mutations. Here, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study of 41 patients from the São Miguel Island (Azores, Portugal), six belonging to a family with HH type-I pseudodominant inheritance, and 35 unrelated individuals fulfilling the biochemical criteria of iron overload compatible with HH type-I. For this purpose, we analyzed the most common HFE mutations- c.

Assessment of Azorean ancestry by Alu insertion polymorphisms.

Knowledge of population ancestry from genetic markers is essential, for example, to understand the history of human migration and to carry out admixture and association studies. Here we assess the genome ancestry of the Azorean population through analysis of six Alu polymorphic sites (TPA-25, ACE, APO, B65, PV92, and D1) in 65 Azoreans and 30 Portuguese unrelated blood donors and compare data for the Y-chromosome and mtDNA. Allele frequencies were calculated by direct counting.