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Lorenzini PA, Gusareva ES, Ghosh AG, Ramli NAB, Preiser PR, Kim HL. Population-specific positive selection on low CR1 expression in malaria-endemic regions. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0280282. [PMID: 36626386 PMCID: PMC9831336 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Complement Receptor Type 1 (CR1) is a malaria-associated gene that encodes a transmembrane receptor of erythrocytes and is crucial for malaria parasite invasion. The expression of CR1 contributes to the rosetting of erythrocytes in the brain bloodstream, causing cerebral malaria, the most severe form of the disease. Here, we study the history of adaptation against malaria by analyzing selection signals in the CR1 gene. We used whole-genome sequencing datasets of 907 healthy individuals from malaria-endemic and non-endemic populations. We detected robust positive selection in populations from the hyperendemic regions of East India and Papua New Guinea. Importantly, we identified a new adaptive variant, rs12034598, which is associated with a slower rate of erythrocyte sedimentation and is linked with a variant associated with low levels of CR1 expression. The combination of the variants likely drives natural selection. In addition, we identified a variant rs3886100 under positive selection in West Africans, which is also related to a low level of CR1 expression in the brain. Our study shows the fine-resolution history of positive selection in the CR1 gene and suggests a population-specific history of CR1 adaptation to malaria. Notably, our novel approach using population genomic analyses allows the identification of protective variants that reduce the risk of malaria infection without the need for patient samples or malaria individual medical records. Our findings contribute to understanding of human adaptation against cerebral malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Alberto Lorenzini
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- The GenomeAsia 100K Consortium, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Elena S. Gusareva
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- The GenomeAsia 100K Consortium, Singapore, Singapore
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Amit Gourav Ghosh
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- The GenomeAsia 100K Consortium, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nurul Adilah Binte Ramli
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- The GenomeAsia 100K Consortium, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Peter Rainer Preiser
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Hie Lim Kim
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- The GenomeAsia 100K Consortium, Singapore, Singapore
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- * E-mail:
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