Scholarlink

Background <p>Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by <i>Mycobacterium leprae</i> (<i>M. leprae</i>) that reached an epidemic scale in the Middle Ages. Nowadays, the disease is absent in Europe and host genetic influences have been considered as a contributing factor to leprosy disappearance. In this study, we perform a case–control association analysis between multiple human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and leprosy in a medieval European population. The sample comprises 302 individuals from 18 archaeological sites in Denmark (<i>N</i> = 16) and Germany (<i>N</i> = 2).</p> Results <p>Our results indicate that HLA-B*38 is associated with leprosy risk. Furthermore, we detect three novel variants that were possibly involved in leprosy risk or protection: HLA-A*23, DRB1*04, and DRB1*13. We also note a subtle temporal change in frequency for several alleles previously associated with infectious diseases, inflammatory disorders, and cancer in present-day populations.</p> Conclusions <p>This study demonstrates the potential of ancient DNA in the identification of genetic variants involved in predisposition to diseases that are no longer present in Europe but remain endemic elsewhere. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the reason behind the temporal frequency shift, past epidemics of infectious diseases have likely influenced the HLA pool in present-day Europe.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Ancient DNA study provides clues to leprosy susceptibility in medieval Europe

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月16日

查看全文
  • Joanna H. Romeyer-Dherbey,
  • Amke Caliebe,
  • Onur Ӧzer,
  • Nicolas Antonio da Silva,
  • Nicolás Mendoza Mejía,
  • Daniel Anton Myburgh,
  • Katharina Fuchs,
  • Dorthe Dangvard Pedersen,
  • Jesper Boldsen,
  • Lars Agersnap Larsen,
  • Lone Seeberg,
  • Morten Søvsø,
  • Dirk Rieger,
  • Andreas Prescher,
  • Almut Nebel,
  • Ben Krause-Kyora

摘要

Background

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) that reached an epidemic scale in the Middle Ages. Nowadays, the disease is absent in Europe and host genetic influences have been considered as a contributing factor to leprosy disappearance. In this study, we perform a case–control association analysis between multiple human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and leprosy in a medieval European population. The sample comprises 302 individuals from 18 archaeological sites in Denmark (N = 16) and Germany (N = 2).

Results

Our results indicate that HLA-B*38 is associated with leprosy risk. Furthermore, we detect three novel variants that were possibly involved in leprosy risk or protection: HLA-A*23, DRB1*04, and DRB1*13. We also note a subtle temporal change in frequency for several alleles previously associated with infectious diseases, inflammatory disorders, and cancer in present-day populations.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the potential of ancient DNA in the identification of genetic variants involved in predisposition to diseases that are no longer present in Europe but remain endemic elsewhere. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the reason behind the temporal frequency shift, past epidemics of infectious diseases have likely influenced the HLA pool in present-day Europe.