@article{fdi:010063915,
  title = {{B}alancing immunity and tolerance : genetic footprint of natural selection in the transcriptional regulatory region of {HLA}-{G}},
  author = {{G}ineau, {L}aure and {L}uisi, {P}. and {C}astelli, {E}. {C}. and {M}ilet, {J}acqueline and {C}ourtin, {D}avid and {C}agnin, {N}. and {P}atillon, {B}. and {L}aayouni, {H}. and {M}oreau, {P}. and {D}onadi, {E}. {A}. and {G}arcia, {A}ndr{\'e} and {S}abbagh, {A}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{H}uman leukocyte antigen-{G} ({HLA}-{G}) has well-recognized immunosuppressive properties modulating the activity of many immune system cells, and polymorphisms observed at the {HLA}-{G} 5' upstream regulatory region (5'{URR}) may influence gene transcriptional regulation. {I}n this study, we characterized the sequence variation and haplotype structure of the {HLA}-{G} 5'{URR} in worldwide populations to investigate the evolutionary history of the {HLA}-{G} promoter and shed some light into the mechanisms that may underlie {HLA}-{G} expression control. {A} 1.4-kb region, encompassing the known {HLA}-{G} regulatory elements, was sequenced in three {A}frican populations from {S}enegal, {B}enin and {C}ongo, and data were combined with those available in the literature, resulting in a total of 1411 individuals from 21 worldwide populations. {H}igh levels of nucleotide and haplotype diversities, excess of intermediate-frequency variants and reduced population differentiation were observed at this locus when compared with the background genomic variation. {T}hese features support a strong molecular signature of balancing selection at {HLA}-{G} 5'{URR}, probably as a result of the competing needs to maintain both a maternal-fetal immune tolerance and an efficient host immune response to invading pathogens during human evolution. {A}n extended analysis of a 300-kb region surrounding {HLA}-{G} revealed that this region is not involved in a hitchhiking effect and may be the direct target of selection.},
  keywords = {{SENEGAL} ; {BENIN} ; {CONGO}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{G}enes and {I}mmunity},
  volume = {16},
  numero = {1},
  pages = {57--70},
  ISSN = {1466-4879},
  year = {2015},
  DOI = {10.1038/gene.2014.63},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010063915},
}