Common west African HLA antigens are associated with protection from severe malaria.

Journal article

A large case-control study of malaria in West African children shows that a human leucocyte class I antigen (HLA-Bw53) and an HLA class II haplotype (DRB1*1302-DQB1*0501), common in West Africans but rare in other racial groups, are independently associated with protection from severe malaria. In this population they account for as great a reduction in disease incidence as the sickle-cell haemoglobin variant. These data support the hypothesis that the extraordinary polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex genes has evolved primarily through natural selection by infectious pathogens.

Authors: Hill, A; Allsopp, C; Kwiatkowski, D; Anstey, N; Twumasi, P

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Nature
• Volume: 352
• Issue: 6336
• Pages: 595-600
• Publication date: 1991-08-01
• DOI: 10.1038/352595a0
• EISSN: 1476-4687
• ISSN: 0028-0836
• Language: English
• Keywords: Case-Control Studies; Major Histocompatibility Complex; Humans; Gene Frequency; Malaria; Child; Haplotypes; Biological Evolution; HLA Antigens; Plasmodium falciparum; Animals; Polymorphism, Genetic; Gambia