Population distribution of the methionine allele at the PRNP codon 129 polymorphism in Europe and the Middle East.
Methionine homozygosity at codon 129 of the prion protein gene is a risk factor for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Knowledge of M129V polymorphism in normal populations may contribute to a better understanding of prion diseases. M129V polymorphism was studied in 2201 normal subjects, originating from 15 populations from Europe and the Middle East. Mean heterozygosity in these populations is 38.9%, and there is some significant geographic heterogeneity between them. A comparison of M129 allele frequencies in these 15 populations to those already published for 8 European countries plus Turkey shows significant correlations with both latitude (r = -0.77) and longitude (r = 0.69). The geographic map of methionine allele frequencies indicates an east-west gradient of decreasing methionine allele values from the Middle East to Western Europe.
Mercier
Géraldine
G
Institute of Molecular Anthropology, 44 rue Monge, 75005 Paris, France.
Diéterlen
Florent
F
Lucotte
Gérard
G
D000483:Alleles; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000235:genetics*; D005060:Europe; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005828:Genetics, Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008715:Methionine / Q000235:genetics*; D008877:Middle East; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D000072002:Prion Proteins; D011328:Prions / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014421:Turkey
C512656:PRNP protein, human; D000072002:Prion Proteins; D011328:Prions; D008715:Methionine