[Study of the most often encountered allele of the HLA-B27 gene in Tuvinian and Russian inhabitants of Western Siberia].

HLA-B27 gene frequencies and allelic polymorphism were studied in two Siberian ethnic groups: Russians from Novosibirsk (western Siberia) and Tuvinians from Kyzyl (southern Siberia). The HLA-B27 frequencies were determined by means of serologic typing of HLA antigens in 198 Tuvinians and 288 Russians. Molecular typing was performed via hybridization of oligonucleotide probes with amplified DNAs obtained from 30 HLA-B27-positive Russians and 11 HLA-B27-positive Tuvinians. The HLA-B27 gene frequencies in Tuvinians and Russians were 5.5 and 10.4%, respectively. Molecular variants of the HLA-B27 gene were studied in Tuvinians for the first time. The proportions of the HLA-B2705 and HLA-B2704 alleles were found to be 64 and 36%, respectively, in the population studied. The presence of the HLA-B2704 allele indicates a Mongoloid origin of Tuvinians. In the Russian population of Novosibirsk, the HLA-B2704 allele was not found, whereas the proportions of the HLA-B2705 and HLA-B2702 alleles were 76.2 and 23.8%, respectively, which is characteristic of Caucasoid populations.