Gérard Lucotte

Distribution of the CCR5 gene 32-bp deletion in Europe.

The chemokine receptor CCR5 constitutes the major coreceptor for the macrophage-tropic strains of HIV-1. A mutant allele of the CCR5 gene called delta32 was shown to provide strong resistance to homozygotes against infection by HIV. The frequency of the delta32 allele was investigated in 2522 noninfected unrelated individuals from 16 different European populations. The delta32 allele was found in all populations studied, with a mean frequency of about 9.1%. A north-to-south gradient correlating latitude with delta32 allelic frequencies was found (r = 0.726), with highest allele frequencies in Denmark and Northern France, and the lowest allele frequencies in Corsica.

A European allele map of the C282Y mutation of hemochromatosis: Celtic versus Viking origin of the mutation?

The aim of this new meta-analysis (to the end of 2002) is to compile the Y allele frequencies of the C282Y mutation of hereditary hemochromatosis (HFE gene) for 63 European populations, representing a total of 10,708 unrelated people concerning control samples. A new allele map of C282Y frequencies in Europe was constructed. The highest European frequencies are observed in the Celtic populations in Ireland, in the United Kingdom, and in France, but elevated frequencies are also observed in Scandinavia.

Distribution of the CCR5 gene 32-basepair deletion in West Europe. A hypothesis about the possible dispersion of the mutation by the vikings in historical times

The chemokine receptor CCR5 constitutes the major coreceptor for the macrophage-tropic strains of HIV-1. A mutant allele of the CCR5 gene named Delta32 was shown to provide to homozygotes a strong resistance against infection by HIV. The frequency of the Delta32 allele was collected in 7328 noninfected unrelated individuals from 31 different European populations, and in Cyprus, Turkey, Daghestan, and North-Africa. The Delta32 allele was found in all populations studied, with a mean frequency of about 8.0%. A north to south gradient correlating latitude with Delta32 allelic frequencies was found (r = 0.795, p < 10(-9)), with highest allele frequencies in Nordic countries. We hypothesized that the Delta32 allele was disseminated in Europe by the Vikings during the eighth to the tenth centuries, because the most elevated values of this variant are actually found in their actual populations, and because they raided during the corresponding period in most European countries.

Detection and genotyping of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 by polymerase chain reaction

A simple and rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure was developed for simultaneous detection and typing of herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2. It was possible to detect and type HSV using two primers pairs in a simultaneous double PCR reaction, where the type of HSV present was determined on the basis of an ethidium-bromide-stained band after agarose gel electrophoresis. This PCR assay was tested on about 500 clinical specimens.

North African genes in Iberia studied by Y-chromosome DNA haplotype V

Haplotype V at the Y-chromosome specific DNA polymorphism (p49/TaqI) was reported in a study concerning 487 males originating from five different geographic locations in Iberia and North Africa. The highest frequency of haplotype V (68.9%) was previously observed in Berbers from Morocco, and it was previously established that this haplotype is a characteristic Berberian haplotype in North Africa. Percentages of haplotype V geographic distribution reveal a gradient of decreasing frequencies with latitude in Iberia: 40.8% in Andalusia, 36.2% in Portugal, 12.1% in Catalonia, and 11.3% in Basques; such a cline of decreasing haplotype V frequencies from the South to the North in Iberia clearly establishes a North African toward Iberian gene flow.