An immunity gene evolved in Southeast Asia to protect against leprosy
"Our study suggests that HLA-B*46:01 may provide protection against severe leprosy because it is better adapted to present pathogen-derived peptide antigens for immunosurveillance by the immune system," says lead author Hugo Hilton of Stanford University School of Medicine . "The findings may explain why HLA-B*46:01 evolved 50,000 years ago and spread to become one of the most prevalent immunity gene variants in Southeast Asia." Population expansion, cultural changes, and migration during the last 100,000 years exposed humans to pathogens against which they had not evolved effective resistance. Due to strong selective pressure, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes have evolved to provide immunity against diverse and rapidly evolving pathogens. "New HLA gene variants, or alleles, are thought to arise in human populations during episodes of Darwinian selection, but there is little direct evidence for the nature of this process," says senior study author ...