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    Science. 2010 Aug 13;329(5993):841-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1193032. Epub 2010 Jul 15.

    Association of trypanolytic ApoL1 variants with kidney disease in African Americans.

    Source

    Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA.

    Abstract

    African Americans have higher rates of kidney disease than European Americans. Here, we show that, in African Americans, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and hypertension-attributed end-stage kidney disease (H-ESKD) are associated with two independent sequence variants in the APOL1 gene on chromosome 22 {FSGS odds ratio = 10.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) 6.0 to 18.4]; H-ESKD odds ratio = 7.3 (95% CI 5.6 to 9.5)}. The two APOL1 variants are common in African chromosomes but absent from European chromosomes, and both reside within haplotypes that harbor signatures of positive selection. ApoL1 (apolipoprotein L-1) is a serum factor that lyses trypanosomes. In vitro assays revealed that only the kidney disease-associated ApoL1 variants lysed Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. We speculate that evolution of a critical survival factor in Africa may have contributed to the high rates of renal disease in African Americans.

    Comment in

    PMID:
    20647424
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
    PMCID:
    PMC2980843
    Free PMC Article

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