Ethnic variation of Fcγ receptor polymorphism in Sami and Norwegian populations

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Abstract
Summary: Receptors for the Fc domain of IgG (FcγR) play a critical role in linking cellular and humoral immunity. The various FcγR genotypes may contribute to differences in infectious and immune‐related diseases in various ethnic populations. The Samis are the aboriginal inhabitants of Norway and Fennoscandinavia and differ ethnically from the Norwegians. The distribution of various immune‐related diseases has been reported to differ between Sami and Norwegians. This is the first study to evaluate the distribution of FcγR polymorphisms in a Sami population. Two hundred Samis were genotyped for polymorphisms in the FcγRIIA, FcγRIIIA and FcγRIIIB genes. The genotype and allele frequencies were compared with those of 272 healthy Norwegians. The Sami and Norwegian FcγRIIA, FcγRIIIA and FcγRIIIB genotypes differed significantly. The Samis had higher frequencies of the FcγRIIa‐H/H131, FcγRIIIa‐F/F158 and FcγRIIIb‐NA1/NA1 genotypes. The FcγR genotypes were non‐randomly distributed in both populations. These findings may be important for the prevalence of autoimmune and infectious diseases in the two populations.