Anderson B B, Scattoni M, Perry G M, Galvan P, Giuberti M, Buonocore G, Vullo C
Divisione Pediatrica, Arcispedale S. Anna, Ferrara, Italy.
Am J Hum Genet. 1994 Nov;55(5):975-80.
There is a high prevalence of a familial flavin-deficient red blood cell in Ferrara province in the Po delta in northern Italy, believed to have been selected for by malaria which was endemic from the 12th century. In the present study, activities of FAD-dependent red-cell glutathione reductase (EGR) in the Grosseto area of Maremma on the west coast of Italy where malaria was endemic from 300 B.C. are compared both with activities in the Ferrara area and with activities where there was no history of endemic malaria--in the Florence area and in London in people of Anglo-Saxon origin. EGR activities were similar in Grosseto and Ferrara and were significantly lower than in Florence and London. As previously found in Ferrara, low EGR activity in Grosseto was shown to be unrelated to low dietary riboflavin intake. These findings in Grosseto, suggesting selection by malaria, are particularly interesting because, unlike the situation in Ferrara and most other malarial areas, the prevalence of thalassemia and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency is very low, and they do not appear to have been selected for in Maremma. It is possible that a flavin-deficient red cell, known to inhibit growth of the malaria parasite, was an important protecting factor in the population of this area over the centuries.
在意大利北部波河三角洲的费拉拉省，家族性黄素缺乏红细胞的患病率很高，据信这是由12世纪就流行的疟疾所选择的。在本研究中，将意大利西海岸马尔马的格罗塞托地区（公元前300年起疟疾流行）红细胞中黄素腺嘌呤二核苷酸（FAD）依赖的谷胱甘肽还原酶（EGR）活性，与费拉拉地区以及无疟疾流行史地区（佛罗伦萨地区和盎格鲁-撒克逊血统的伦敦人）的活性进行了比较。格罗塞托和费拉拉的EGR活性相似，且显著低于佛罗伦萨和伦敦。正如之前在费拉拉发现的那样，格罗塞托地区低EGR活性与饮食中核黄素摄入量低无关。格罗塞托的这些发现表明是由疟疾进行选择的，特别有意思的是，与费拉拉和大多数其他疟疾地区的情况不同，地中海贫血和葡萄糖-6-磷酸脱氢酶缺乏症的患病率非常低，而且在马尔马似乎没有受到选择。几个世纪以来，已知能抑制疟原虫生长的黄素缺乏红细胞，可能是该地区人群中的一个重要保护因素。
