UDP-glucuronosyltransferase genetic variation in North African populations: a comparison with African and European data

Background: Genetic variation in glucuronosyltransferases (UGT) is crucial in drug metabolism and risk of some diseases. Aim: To examine genetic variation in UGT in North African populations. Subjects and methods: Allele frequencies of SNPs UGT1A424Thr, UGT1A448Val, UGT2B1585Tyr, UGT2B15523Thr and UGT2B17 CNV deletion from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya were compared to European and Sub-Saharan populations. Results: North Africans are the group with the highest genetic heterogeneity given by internal differences in the occurrence of UGT2B17 deletion, UGT1A448Val and UGT1A4 haplotypes. UGT2B15 SNPs differentiate Sub-Saharans from the rest of the populations. Conclusion: North African populations show a high frequency of carriers of UGT2B15523Thr, a variant linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer. High Atlas Moroccans and Algerians show low frequency of UGT2B17del, a variant associated with high concentrations of testosterone and oestradiol.This work was financed by the grant ‘Ajut per potenciar sin���ergies en recerca’ awarded by the Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona (2016 and 2017), the project 2016/UEM 39 of the Universidad Europea de Madrid, and by the 2017 SGR 1630 Grup de Recerca en Antropologia Biol���ogica (GREAB).1.588 JCR (2018) Q2, 26/90 Anthropology; Q3, 84/164 Public, Environmental & Occupational Health, 51/87 Biology0.616 SJR (2018) Q2, 208/562 Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health; Q3, 67/106 Epidemiology, 112/188 Physiology, 226/351 Genetics, 23/36 AgingNo data IDR 2018UE