The Martinican population is mainly the product of admixture between Africa
n people and French Caucasians. The aim of the present study is to investig
ate at the DNA level the polymorphism of HLA class I (HLA-A, HLA-B) and cla
ss II (HLA-DRB1, DQB1 and DPB1) genes in a population of 100 Martinicans. A
llelic distributions and interlocus linkage disequilibria were compared to
those observed in a French Caucasian population and in African or North Ame
rican African populations. Our data revealed a higher degree of polymorphis
m in Martinicans than in Caucasians and showed a prominant contribution of
African origin in the admired genetic feature of this population. African c
haracteristic alleles were significantly represented in Martinicans : A*30,
*33 *34, *66, *74, *8001, B*1510, *35. *42, *53, DRB1*0302, *0804, *1202,
*1304, *1503, DPB1*0101, *1701, *1801, *3901. Moreover a higher diversity o
f A*-B* and DRB1*-DQB1* associations was observed in Martinicans compared t
o Caucasians which also reflects the African genetic background of this pop
ulation. In the whole. using PCR-based genotyping methods for HLA class I a
nd class II loci, this study allows a preliminary description of HLA allele
distribution in this Caribbean island and gives new elements which may be
helpful in the anthropologic field as well as in HLA and disease associatio
n studies.