Ancestry-dependent genetic structure of the Xq28 risk haplotype in the Mexican population and its association with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: Here we aimed to investigate the association of the Xq28 risk haplotype (H1) with susceptibility to childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to compare its frequency and genetic structure in the Mexican population with those in other continental populations.

Methods: We genotyped 15 single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) that form the H1 haplotype, using TaqMan real-time PCR. The association analysis [case-control and transmission disequilibrium test (TDT)] included 376 cases and 400 adult controls, all of whom were mestizos (MEZ).

Unraveling Signatures of Local Adaptation among Indigenous Groups from Mexico.

Few studies have addressed how selective pressures have shaped the genetic structure of the current Native American populations, and they have mostly limited their inferences to admixed Latin American populations. Here, we searched for local adaptation signals, based on integrated haplotype scores and population branch statistics, in 325 Mexican Indigenous individuals with at least 99% Native American ancestry from five previously defined geographical regions. Although each region exhibited its own local adaptation profile, only and , both negative regulators of the Wnt/β catenin signaling pathway, showed significant adaptation signals in all the tested regions.

DNA methylation and gene expression analysis in adipose tissue to identify new loci associated with T2D development in obesity.

Background: Obesity is accompanied by excess adipose fat storage, which may lead to adipose dysfunction, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Currently, the tendency to develop T2D in obesity cannot be explained by genetic variation alone-epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, might be involved. Here, we aimed to identify changes in DNA methylation and gene expression in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) that might underlie T2D susceptibility in patients with obesity.

Kazak mitochondrial genomes provide insights into the human population history of Central Eurasia.

As a historical nomadic group in Central Asia, Kazaks have mainly inhabited the steppe zone from the Altay Mountains in the East to the Caspian Sea in the West. Fine scale characterization of the genetic profile and population structure of Kazaks would be invaluable for understanding their population history and modeling prehistoric human expansions across the Eurasian steppes. With this mind, we characterized the maternal lineages of 200 Kazaks from Jetisuu at mitochondrial genome level.