α1-Antitrypsin (PI) alleles as markers of westeuropean influence in the Baltic Sea region

Lars Beckman, C. Sikström, A. V. Mikelsaar, A. Krumina, V. Kučinskas, G. Beckman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The distribution of α1-antitrypsin (PI) alleles was studied in an attempt to elucidate migrations and admixture between populations in the Baltic Sea region. The frequency of the PI Z allele, a typically Northwesteuropean marker gene, showed a highly significant regional variation in the Baltic Sea region. The highest frequency (4.5%) was found in the western part of Latvia (Courland). The PI S allele, another marker of Westeuropean influence, also showed an increased frequency in the Courland population. These results indicate that among the populations east of the Baltic Sea the Curonian population has the most pronounced Westeuropean influence. Archaeological data have shown that from the 7th century and for several hundreds of years Courland received immigrations from mainland Sweden and the island of Gotland. We speculate that the increased frequencies of the PI Z alleles and S alleles in Courland may have been caused by these migrations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)52-55
Number of pages4
JournalHuman Heredity
Volume49
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 1999
Externally publishedYes

Keywords*

  • α-Antitrypsin (PI)
  • Baltic sea region
  • PI Z allele

Field of Science*

  • 3.1 Basic medicine
  • 3.2 Clinical medicine

Publication Type*

  • 1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

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