Researchers on Monday reported the findings of an unprecedented extensive study of genetic diversity of the Mexican population that could reveal why certain people are affected by different diseases such as the H1N1 Influenza A virus.
The study was commissioned by Mexico’s National Institute of Genomic Medicine (INMENGEN) and is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
“We assessed the benefit of a Mexican haplotype map to improve identification of genes related to common diseases in the Mexican population,” said lead author Dr. Gerardo Jimenez-Sanchez and his team of 116 Mexican researchers.
The team analyzed genetic information of 300 Mestizos from six different geographic locations in Mexico. They also analyzed genetic composition of 30 members of the indigenous Zapotecas group in America.
Researchers found that the genetic composition of the Mexican Mestizo and Indigenous populations were different from the three other known human genetic subgroups – Yoruba from Africa, Caucasians of European descent, and the Chinese and Japanese of Asia.
“This study makes clear that Latin Americans with mixed ancestry are different enough from other people worldwide that a full-scale genomic mapping project would be wise both scientifically and economically,” said Dr. Julio Frenk of the Harvard School of Public Health.
“It would allow doctors to analyze fewer genetic markers when diagnosing the risk that a patient will develop a disease that depends on complex factors.”
Researchers said they found 89 common gene variations that were not listed in the International HapMap Project from 2002 to 2006.
“This effort will contribute to the design of better strategies aimed at characterizing the genetic factors underlying common complex diseases in Mexicans,” said Jimenez-Sanchez.
“In addition, this information will increase our knowledge of genomic variability in Latino populations.”
The study’s findings have implications for others outside of Mexico as well, said researchers.
“More than 560 million people live in Latin American countries, and according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates the Latino population reached 45.5 million in 2007, representing the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States,” they wrote.
Although the new findings are too young to draw clear lines between the outbreak of H1N1 Influenza A in Mexico, they may help experts identify why cases of the international virus has resulted in death primarily in Mexico.
“It is not possible today to say genetic variation is responsible for the unique H1N1 influenza A mortality rate in Mexico,” Jimenez-Sanchez said.
“However, knowledge of genomic variability in the Mexican population can allow the identification of genetic variations that confer susceptibility to common diseases, including infections such as the flu.”
“It will also help develop pharmacogenomics to help produce medicines tailored to people of a specific genetic group, to the creation of drugs that are both safer and more effective.”
President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, said: “The genomic map of the Mexican population is an essential contribution of Mexico to science and public health. This study represents an important landmark to develop genomic medicine in Mexico to improve healthcare of its population. I commend our National Institute of Genomic Medicine, INMEGEN, for such a significant milestone.”
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