HLA polymorphisms in Nigerians

The HLA class I and class II phenotypes of a panel of 114 unrelated Nigerians have been determined. The panel was tested for all the known class I antigens and comparisons of the HLA‐A and ‐B frequencies with those of other African Negroid populations revealed some differences. Only limited comparisons could be made for the HLA‐DR and ‐D frequencies as these are not available for any well‐defined African Negroid population. The data concerning the class II antigens of this panel are the most interesting. Half of the DRw11‐positive panel members are DQw3 negative and DQw1 positive, in addition, there is dissociation of some HLA‐D and ‐DR specificities, a number of panel members are positive for an HLA‐D specificity and are negative for the corresponding HLA‐DR specificity. Our results show the value of population studies in the investigation of the relationship between the different HLA class II antigens.