According to a report studied by WHO, 2 billion people are infect

According to a report studied by WHO, 2 billion people are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and 8–12 million new cases occur each year, accounting for 2–3 million deaths annually [1]. Epidemiological studies

indicate that 5–10% of people infected with M. Tuberculosis will develop active tuberculosis [2]. Nowadays, the prevalence of tuberculosis is worse in China owing to the increasing number of mobile population, the aggravating environment and the transformed biology of bacilli. To date, several candidate genes have been associated with the onset of TB [3, 4]. Therefore, the candidate genes such as vitamin D receptor genes and others have provided selleck screening library us the understanding of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) infection. Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR), a large group of polymorphic receptor expressed on NK cells and T cells, recognizing human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules and playing a pivotal

role in immune responses. KIR selleck haplotypes can be simplified into two distinct groups, A and B [5]. Group A haplotype has a fixed number of genes that encode inhibitory receptors with the exception of 2DS4, whereas group B has variable gene content including additional activating receptor genes (KIR2DS1, 2, 3, 5 and KIR3DS1) as well as two inhibitory receptors (KIR2DL2 and KIR2DL5). When this distinction is used, all individuals can be assigned to have 1 of 2 genotypes: A/A, which Thiamet G is homozygous for group A haplotype, or B/x, which includes A/B heterozygotes or B/B homozygotes. HLA class I is the most polymorphic region of the human genome. HLA class I genes are found at the A, B and C loci of chromosome 6 and have been shown to play an important role in controlling of infection [6]. In addition, HLA-C molecules are classified as either C1 group with Ser77Asn80 in the HLA H chain (HLA-Cw*01, HLA-Cw*03, HLA-Cw*07, HLA-Cw*08, HLA-Cw*12, HLA-Cw*14 and HLA-Cw*16) or C2 group with Asn77Lys80 in the H chain (HLA-Cw*02,

HLA-Cw*04, HLA-Cw*05, HLA-Cw*06, HLA-Cw*15, HLA-Cw*16, HLA-Cw*17 and HLA-Cw*18). KIR polymorphisms and allelic variation affect the KIR-HLA binding specificity and are linked to the outcome of diseases [7, 8]. The peptide-binding motif for HLA-Cw*0304 has been formally determined [9]. Recent genome-wide association research has indicated the significant role of HLA-Cw genes [10]. However, HLA-Cw alleles have been less well studied than their HLA-A and HLA-B counterparts. Although some effective measures have been taken to control this disease [11], the incidence of TB has recently re-emerged as a public health problem in many countries. To investigate the influence of KIR and HLA-Cw genes on the risk of PTB development, a case–control study was conducted in patients with PTB and controls by using sequence-specific primer polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR) method. Our findings provided a better understanding on the genetic diversity of KIR-HLA across patients with PTB. Patients group.

Tuberculin

(PPD) skin tests were considered positive when

Tuberculin

(PPD) skin tests were considered positive when the induration diameter was larger than 10 mm at 72 h since injection of 5 U of PPD (Statens Seruminstitut, Copenhagen, Denmark). The study was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e delle Patologie Emergenti, University Hospital, Palermo, and Monaldi Hospital, Naples, Italy, where the patients were recruited. Informed consent was written by all participants. For the identification of LTBI subjects, Neratinib concentration in the absence of a gold standard, the most widely used diagnostic test remains the tuberculin skin test, based on the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction that develops in M. tuberculosis-infected individuals upon intradermal injection of PPD. Individuals with LTBI were defined as healthy people with a positive tuberculin skin test and no symptoms and signs of active TB. However, because the PPD skin test suffers from many limitations 43, the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test (Cellestis, Victoria, Australia) was also performed and showed that among PPD+ LTBI

subjects the response to QuantiFERON-TB Gold test was found in 74% (18/24), whereas this test was negative in all PPD skin test-negative healthy donors 44, 45; therefore, only those subjects positive to GFT-G were considered as being latently infected and were included in the study. All of the LTBI subjects were health care workers, and thus very likely to Pregnenolone be close contacts of TB index cases. Moreover, none of the LTBI subjects selleck compound included in this study had been vaccinated with BCG. Additional patients and controls were recruited at the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands, including four cured TB patients (2 men, 2 women, age range 42–77 years); eight LTBI subjects (5 men, 3 women, age range 26–56 years) and

four healthy subjects (PPD negative) (1 man, 3 women, age range 25–39 years). TB-infected patients were successfully treated and completed their therapy more than 2 years prior to study participation. LTBI subjects were recruited from a previous study 46. All subjects were HIV negative; none of them received BCG vaccination. All individuals volunteered to participate in the study and signed informed consent, as approved by the local ethics committee. Recombinant M. tuberculosis proteins, ESAT-6, Ag85B and 16 kDa, were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified as described previously 21, PBMC (106/mL) were stimulated with M. tuberculosis protein antigens at a final concentration of 10 μg/mL or SEB (Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA, 5 μg/mL final concentration), for 16 h at 37°C in 5% CO2. Unstimulated PBMC were used to assess nonspecific/background cytokine production. Monensin (Sigma, 10 μg/mL final concentration) was added after 2 h.

The duration of hospitalization was significantly shorter in the

The duration of hospitalization was significantly shorter in the F group compared to the NF group. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated

that clinical characteristics other than CKD-MBD at hemodialysis initiation were similar between very elderly patients and younger patients with ESRD. Furthermore, AZD2014 price appropriate management by nephrologists may lead the improvement of quality of life for very elderly patients with ESRD. WANG JI-WEI1, ZHANG LING2, LI MINGZI3, CHEN JIN-BOR4, CHENG BEN-CHUNG5, CHEN TUN-LING6, TSENG TA-CHUAN7 1Division of Nephrology, Jilin City Central Hospital, Yanbian University Medical College; 2Division of Nephrology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, China; 3Division of Nephrology, Jilin City Central Hospital, Yanbian University

Medical College, China; 4Division of Nephrology, LY2835219 Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 5Division of Nephrology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 6Bo Da Ling Zheng (Bj) Hospital Investment Management Consulting Limited Inc. China; 7Bo Da Ling Zheng (Bj) Hospital Investment Management Consulting Limited Inc. China Introduction: Hyperparathyroidism is an impact factor for cardiovascular disease in dialysis patients. However, there are limited data pertaining the severity of hyperparathyroidism and cardiac function in dialysis patients. The purpose of present study was to explore the influence of severity of hyperparathyroidism on cardiac function in dialysis patients. Methods: The study design

was a retrospective, parallel-group, cross-sectional cohort study. The enrolled patients were chronic dialysis patients either on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis in two hospitals. A total 106 subjects were recruited, men: women were 53:53. The comparable variables included blood levels of Ca, P, Ca-P product, iPTH and parameters of cardiac echography. very The study subjects were stratified into two groups according to cutoff iPTH level 800 pg/mL. Results: In severe group, the mean age was 48.8 years, dialysis duration was 105.2 months, mean iPTH level was 1552.2 pg/mL. In mild group, the mean age was 50.4 years, dialysis duration was 33.0 months (P < 0.0001), and mean iPTH level was 353 pg/mL (P < 0.0001). The Ca/P profiles were Ca 2.6: 2.2 mmol/L (P < 0.0001), P 2.1: 1.5 mmol/L (P < 0.0001), Ca-P product 5.4: 3.4 (P < 0.0001). The significant variables in cardiac echography were left atrium diameter 43.1: 34.3 mm (P < 0.0001), ejection fraction 64.6: 59.3% (P = 0.031). The other variables including left ventricle end-systolic volume, end-diastolic volume, aortic root diameters, interventricular septum thickness were not statistical significance between two groups.

39%) to day 8 (0 5%), when 3×107 T cells were transferred (Fig

39%) to day 8 (0.5%), when 3×107 T cells were transferred (Fig.

1C). Briefly, 7×107-injected T cells (Fig. 1D) seem to approach the number of endogenous LCMV-specific T cells, as they could successfully beta-catenin inhibitor compete with them in their proliferative response, visible in an increasing rather than decreasing relative percentage of C57BL/6 donor T cells (day 5: 5.46% and day 8: 6.8%). However, the percentage of MECL-1−/− donor-derived T cells was reduced compared with the WT donor T cells, starting on day 5 or 6, regardless of the number of transferred T cells. The expression of immunoproteasomes in T cells was verified by Western analysis of T cells derived from naïve C57BL/6, MECL-1−/−, LMP2−/− and LMP7−/− mice (Supporting Information selleck products Fig. 1). To ensure that T cells lacking immunoproteasome subunits do not suffer from homing failures, we monitored the migration of the LMP7−/− (Supporting Information Fig. 2A) and MECL-1−/− (Supporting Information Fig. 2B) donor-derived T cells to spleen, peritoneum,

popliteal LN, medial iliac LN and blood of the LCMV-WE-infected recipient mouse. LMP7−/− and MECL-1−/− T cells transferred into Thy1.1 mice did not display divergent homing characteristics compared with C57BL/6 T cells. But, as anticipated, cells originating from LMP7−/− or MECL-1−/− donors, respectively, were far below the number of WT donor cells in all organs examined. The fact of a diminished MHC class I surface expression on LMP7 gene-targeted T cells and the potential presence of differing miHAg, that could arise due to altered proteasome compositions, necessitates the exclusion of rejection processes

as potential cause for the impaired expansion of adoptively transferred immunoproteasome-deficient donor T cells. It has been shown that the rejection of tg CD4+ T cells carrying miHAg takes approximately 21 days 14 and, to quote a second well-studied miHAg, 40–75% of male hematopoetic cell grafts survive in female recipients of at day 10 after transfer 15. As we are injecting only T cells but no professional APC, we assume that the rejection process would take even longer. But, as shown in Fig. 1, depending on the immunoproteasome subunit missing, most transferred T cells had disappeared by day 8 post-infection. To further rule out rejection phenomena, we transferred a 1:1 mixture of C57BL/6 WT and MECL-1−/− T cells into naïve Thy1.1 mice. Control- and immunoproteasome-deficient T cells could be discriminated by their CFSE intensity (C57BL/6: CFSE low; MECL-1−/−: CFSE high). One day after transfer, we bled the mice to confirm that all animals started with a 1:1 ratio of WT- and MECL-1−/− T cells. The percentage of MECL-1−/− cells remained stable over the whole time period (day 4: 39.8% and day 7: 42.

Individual differences

in attention assessed in an unrela

Individual differences

in attention assessed in an unrelated task were not related to their categorization. Thus, infants’ learning is multiply influenced by past experience and online attentional style. “
“This study investigated the influence of emotion on toddlers’ prosocial behavior in instrumental helping tasks with an unfamiliar adult. The goals were to examine whether early prosocial behavior was affected Small molecule library by (1) the adult’s expressions of sadness (in contrast to a neutral expression) as a cue of need and (2) toddlers’ emotion understanding. Thirty-five 18- to 20-month-olds participated in eight trials in which an experimenter either indicated need for assistance (experimental condition) or did not (control). In addition, the experimenter expressed either sadness or neutral affect in each trial. Toddlers’ emotion understanding was assessed using maternal reports of children’s emotion words. The experimenter’s emotional expression alone was not associated with prosocial behavior, but toddlers helped more in experimental than control conditions.

However, toddlers with larger emotion word vocabularies were marginally more prosocial when the experimenter expressed sadness, and girls provided more assistance than boys in experimental conditions. These findings highlight the complex influences of emotion on early prosocial motivation. Deforolimus chemical structure
“Young children routinely behave prosocially, but what is their motivation for doing so? Here, we review three studies which show that young children (1) are intrinsically motivated rather than motivated by extrinsic rewards; (2) are more inclined to help those for whom they feel sympathy; and (3) are not so much motivated to provide help themselves as to see the person helped (as can be seen in changes of their

sympathetic arousal, as measured by pupil dilation, in different circumstances). Young children’s prosocial behavior is thus intrinsically Methisazone motivated by a concern for others’ welfare, which has its evolutionary roots in a concern for the well-being of those with whom one is interdependent. “
“Recent evidence suggests that infants can generate expectations about future events from a sample of probabilistic data. However, little is known about the conditions that support the development of this ability. Three experiments tested the prediction that 8- and 12-month-olds respond to base rates as well as perceptual cues when they generate expectations from a sample of probabilistic data. Results revealed that 12-month-olds were sensitive to the statistical and perceptual properties of the evidence depending on the distribution of high-to-low base rate items in the sample. Specifically, 12-month-olds focused on perceptual features of the evidence when a sample was large and more skewed (e.g., 6:1), whereas they attended to statistical properties when the sample was smaller and less skewed (e.g., 4:1). In contrast, eight-month-olds always focused on the perceptual features of the evidence.

The DNA fragments corresponding to rv3874, rv3875 and rv3619c wer

The DNA fragments corresponding to rv3874, rv3875 and rv3619c were subsequently cloned into pGES-TH-1 vector as described previously [24] giving constructs pGES-TH/Rv3874, pGES-TH/Rv3875 and pGES-TH/Rv3619c, respectively. To illustrate the cloning, expression and purification procedures, the schematic presentation of Rv3874 is shown as a reference in Fig. 1. The E. coli BL-21 carrying the plasmid pGES-TH-1 was used as a positive control for expression of GST. The untransformed parent E. coli BL-21 served as

a negative control. The growth and induction of expression were carried out as described previously [20, Vemurafenib datasheet 24]. DNA sequencing.  The rv3874, rv3875 and rv3619c genes cloned in pGES-TH-1 vector were sequenced using CEQ Dye Terminator Cycle Sequencing (DTCS) Quick Start kit (Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA), according to manufacturer’s instruction. The processed DNA was resuspended with 40 μl of Sample Loading Solution and loaded in CEQ sample plate, and the sample was layered with 8 μl of mineral oil (Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA). The plate was loaded into DNA sequencer Palbociclib (Model CEQ 8000, Beckman Coulter), as described by the manufacturer. The DNA sequencing data were analysed by using the BLAST2 program analysis [31]. SDS–PAGE and immunoblotting.  Whole cell or soluble proteins in cell-free extracts of E. coli transformed with recombinant

pGES-TH-1 were separated by 15% SDS–PAGE gels. The resolved proteins were either stained with Coomassie brilliant blue or transferred to nitrocellulose membranes for Western immunoblotting with anti-GST (Amersham-Pharmacia) and anti-penta His antibodies (Qiagen, GmbH, Hilden, Germany), as described previously [24]. Purification of recombinant Rv3874 and Rv3875 proteins.  The growth conditions, induction

of expression and preparation of cell-free extract from cultures of E. coli BL21 cells carrying PAK5 the plasmid pGES-TH/Rv3874 and pGES-TH/Rv3875 were performed at 30 °C essentially as described previously [24]. The extract was loaded onto the glutathione-Sepharose column (Amersham-Pharmacia) and equilibrated in PBS containing 5 mm Dithiothreitol at 4 °C. After washing the column extensively with PBS, the column was brought to room temperature, and the Rv3874 and Rv3875 proteins were released by proteolytic cleavage of the respective fusion proteins bound to the column matrix by thrombin protease, as described earlier [20, 24]. Fractions of 1 ml were collected and analysed by SDS–PAGE. The active fractions in PBS containing Rv3874 and Rv3875 were combined, adjusted to 2.5 m NaCl, 300 mm Imidazole, 50 mmβ-marcaptoethanol (buffer I) then loaded on Ni-NTA agarose affinity column (bed volume 2 ml) (Qiagen, Germany) equilibrated with buffer I at 4 °C.

Previous results with N-acetylcysteine indicate a positive

Previous results with N-acetylcysteine indicate a positive find more impact on microcirculatory flow during smoking, particularly in habitual smokers [37]. Capillary blood flow velocity increased after oral treatment with both antioxidants.

There was a prompt reduction in CBV in response to smoke inhalation. After two weeks of treatment with ascorbate or vitamin E, there was still a significant reduction in CBV (p < 0.0004 and p < 0.000008 respectively) in response to smoking, indicating the absence of a modifying effect of either antioxidant on this variable. It is plausible that naturally compensatory mechanisms might operate to maintain blood flow velocity within certain limits. The contribution of additional antioxidants through formation and preservation of vascular antioxidative defense may be sufficient to increase CBV in the resting state, but the acute high oxidative stress by free radical generation induced by smoking — such

as superoxide anions or hydroxyl radicals — not sufficiently counteracted by the immediately available increased antioxidative capacity of the endothelial interface. Free radicals are thought to inactivate eNOS and one possible mechanism by which antioxidants may serve to preserve endothelial function is to increase the bioavailability of nitric oxide [32,66]. NO may not necessarily directly mediate reactive hyperemia in the skin, but might possibly act in conjunction with other agents such as blood cells, hormones, Dichloromethane dehalogenase endothelial adhesion molecules, prostaglandins, neural control, signal transduction pathways, and endothelium-dependent hyperpolarizing factors www.selleckchem.com/products/ulixertinib-bvd-523-vrt752271.html to mediate reactive hyperemia. Furthermore, skin microcirculation is a main tool for thermoregulation with dual sympathetic neural control mechanisms and with a high vasodilatory capacity in response to various stimuli such as thermal, metabolic, and pharmacological

stimuli, also affected by reactive oxygen species [27]. Cigarette smoke contains free radicals and other oxidants in abundance, both in the gas phase and in the tar phase [47]. As vitamin C, but not vitamin E, affects TtP strongly, it suggests an important contribution by aqueous-phase reactive oxygen species in the immediate changes induced by cigarette smoke, whereas there is no prediction of effects on later stages of the sequence of mechanisms induced by the smoke inhalation. Although vitamin E has been shown to protect endothelial cells from reactive oxygen species, oxygenated lipids, lipoxygenase products, adhesion of leukocytes, and upregulation of adhesion molecules [35], there are several reports with the same finding as in our study, i.e., a positive effect of vitamin C, but not that of vitamin E [32]. Smoking results in an intense oxidative stress on the circulation and its effect on the microcirculation is of particular interest as it is one of the strongest risk factors in the development of cardiovascular disease.

Statistical analyses compared responses between (1) ESID and focu

Statistical analyses compared responses between (1) ESID and focused AAAAI respondents click here and (2) ESID and general AAAAI respondents. The comparison between focused and general AAAAI respondents has been reported previously [5]. Differences in responses between groups were assessed using χ2 and Fisher’s exact tests for categorical data where appropriate. All data were analysed using STATA version 11·0 (Stata Corp., College Station, TX, USA). Statistical significance was declared with P-values < 0·05. There were 123 responses to our questionnaire, which was a 27·3% response rate and therefore higher than the 13·5% response rate to the AAAAI survey, although the total number of respondents

was greater in the AAAAI survey, in keeping with the larger membership [5]. The higher response rate may be due, in part, to a smaller community of immunologists within ESID or a greater sense of commitment to PID among the ESID membership. In both instances, the questionnaires had relatively low response rates overall. This reflects the general finding that there are lower

responses to e-mail and internet surveys than postal mail surveys [6]. The covering letter from an organizational leader that accompanied the ESID survey may, in part, account for the higher response buy Enzalutamide rate. The disadvantage of low response rates is the risk of substantial non-response bias, but this is likely to be the same for each group. In order to understand the nature of individual respondents generally, information on the length of time since medical graduation and on geographical location of respondents was requested. ESID

respondents Unoprostone had a very similar distribution to the AAAAI respondents (Table 1), in terms of age or length of medical practice. ESID is an international organization and although it was a requirement to be a member of ESID to participate in this questionnaire, there are ESID members located outside Europe. Among the 123 ESID respondents, 105 (85·4%) were located within Europe (Table 2 and Appendix B); the United Kingdom had the largest representation (26 respondents, 21·1%), reflecting the relatively high number of PID centres in the United Kingdom. In addition, six respondents (4·9%) were from the Middle East and 11 (8·9%) from other countries (Table 2 and Appendix B). Non-response bias is a limitation of this present study, as so few questionnaires were returned for analysis. We attempted to minimize response bias by ensuring anonymous responses, as respondents may have otherwise felt pressured to answer with the more ‘socially acceptable’ answer rather than their true beliefs, especially when it comes to patient care and following guidelines. Because the mode of administration was an internet questionnaire, it is conceivable that younger members might have been more apt to respond.

Ten animals were infected with 5 × 106 red blood cells parasitize

Ten animals were infected with 5 × 106 red blood cells parasitized by P. berghei-NK65 (PbNK-65) or only injected with saline (negative control group). After 14 days of infection, control and infected mice were

anaesthetized, killed and their thymi were collected and used in the experiments described below. Thymi were minced, washed PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor and resuspended in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing 5% fetal calf serum for subsequent cellularity evaluation, which was followed by triple immunofluorescence staining. Appropriate dilutions of the following fluorochrome-labelled monoclonal antibodies were used: fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/anti-CD4 (clone GK1.5), Alexa Fluor 647/anti-CD8 (clone 53-6.7), PeCy-7/anti-CD3 (clone 145-2C11), phycoerythrin (PE)/anti-CD49d (clone 9C10), PE/anti-CD49e (clone 5H10-27), PE/anti-CD49f (clone GOH3), PE/anti-CXCR4 (clone B11/CXCR4) and PE/anti-CCR9 (clone 242503). see more These reagents were purchased from Pharmingen/Becton-Dickinson (South San Francisco, CA) and R&D Systems (Minneapolis, MN). Fluorochrome-labelled isotype-matched negative controls for the specific monoclonal antibodies were obtained from Pharmingen. Cells were stained for 20 min and then washed with PBS, fixed and analysed by flow cytometry in a FACsCANTO® device (Becton-Dickinson) equipped with

Diva software. Analyses were performed after recording 10 000 events for each sample using FCS Express V3 software (BD Biosciences, San Jose, CA). Splenic cells from infected and control animals were also processed and analysed Niclosamide by flow cytometry. In this case, CD4+ and CD8+ cell populations were analysed by gating on CD3+ cells. Thymi were embedded in Tissue-Tek (LEICA Instruments,

Nussloch, Germany) and subsequently frozen at −70°. Five-micrometre thick cryostat sections were settled on silanized glass slides, acetone-fixed and blocked with PBS/1% bovine serum albumin (BSA). Samples were submitted to anti-fibronectin or anti-laminin primary antibody incubation (Sigma-Aldrich, St Louis, MO) for 1 hr at room temperature, washed three times with PBS and labelled with FITC-coupled secondary antibody incubation (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA) for an additional 30 min. Samples were analysed by fluorescence microscopy (Olympus) and the images obtained were subsequently quantified for the presence of ECM proteins using the Image J software.19 The expression of chemokine genes was evaluated by real-time quantitative transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Thymus RNA was extracted from tissues using the Illustra RNAspin Mini (GE Healthcare, Amersham, UK). After RNA quantification and analysis of RNA integrity on a 1·5% agarose gel, reverse transcription was performed with approximately 2 μg of RNA using the High Capacity cDNA Reverse Transcription kit (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

g western and southern sub-Saharan Africa, northwestern Europe,

g. western and southern sub-Saharan Africa, northwestern Europe, southeastern Asia), whereas genetic profiles with intermediate frequencies for several haplotypes are observed in central or connecting regions like East Africa and the Near-East. This suggests that human peopling history occurred in a centrifugal manner, i.e. from central to peripheral regions, with a loss

of ACP-196 concentration diversity through isolation by distance.12 This scenario is suggested by Fig. 1 (a multidimensional scaling analysis of 82 populations, data compiled in ref. 12) where a continuous pattern of genetic variation is clearly visible, and is fully compatible with the spread of modern humans towards different continents from a central region including East Africa and the Near East. Besides this general finding at the global level, the study of the GM polymorphism has brought significant results at regional levels. In Africa, linguistics click here is a better predictor of the GM genetic structure of populations than geography: variation of GM haplotypes is clearly observed among populations whose languages belong to different linguistic

phyla of this continent; i.e. Afro-Asiatic (AA), Nilo-Saharan (NS), Niger-Congo (NC) and Khoisan (KH).13–15 It is therefore likely that the spread of populations speaking languages from each of these families had a significant impact on the patterns of GM genetic variation in Africa. In particular, the demographic and geographic expansion of the NC-speaking Bantu started in a region located between present Nigeria and Cameroon and expanded southward during the last 3000 years. Bantu people may have ‘pushed’ KH populations further south compared with Dehydratase the large area previously occupied by the KH populations, which extended from northeast to southern Africa. Despite documented gene flow between Bantu and KH populations, the genetic profiles (here, for the GM polymorphism) observed in KH show that they retained an ancient genetic diversification. Interestingly, KH populations exhibit

moderate frequencies for one haplotype, GM 1,17 21, which is frequent in East Africa but rarely found elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, indicating that KH and East African populations share ancient relationships. The other African linguistic groups also exhibit a genetic profile compatible with linguistic classification: West Africans, whose languages belong, like Bantu, to the NC family, are genetically similar to Bantu, with very high GM 1,17 5* frequencies; also, AA populations from East Africa exhibit higher frequencies of GM 1,17 21 and GM 3 5* than other sub-Saharan African populations, which makes them closer than the other groups to populations from AA-speaking populations from North Africa and the Near-East.