Genetic diversity of HLA system in two populations from Chiapas, Mexico: Tuxtla Gutierrez and rural Chiapas

We studied HLA class I (HLA-A, -B) and class II (HLA-DRB1, -DQB1) alleles by PCR-SSP based typing in 173 Mexicans from the state of Chiapas living in the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez (N = 52) and rural communities (N = 121), to obtain information regarding allelic and haplotypic frequencies. We found that the most frequent haplotypes in Chiapas include 12 Native American and one European haplotype. Admixture estimates revealed that the main genetic components in Chiapas are Native American (71.61 +/- 0.58% by ML; 53.16% of Native American haplotypes) and European (26.39 +/- 5.05% by ML; 25.86% of European haplotypes), and a less prominent African genetic component (2.00 +/- 5.20% by ML; 9.77% of African haplotypes).