Identification of genetic susceptibility loci for insulin-dependent diabetes in Sudan

In this study we report, for the first time, the molecular analysis of HLA-DR and DQ gene frequencies in a large cohort of well-characterized type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients (n = 72), and ethnically matched controls (n = 59) collected in sub-Saharan Africa. High molecular mass DNA was prepared and analysed in Southern blots and by oligonucleotide typing. We have shown a strong positive association between IDDM and the Asp 57- DQB1 allele *0201 (DQw2). A rare DR4, DQw2 haplotype was also identified at high frequency in the IDDM cohort. We can now confirm that the association between Asp 57- DQB1 alleles and IDDM, previously reported in ethnically diverse cohorts collected in Western Europe, North America, and South Asia, is also present in an IDDM cohort collected in Africa.