ArticleNature communications2018
Ancient DNA study reveals HLA susceptibility locus for leprosy in medieval Europeans.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Leprosy in skeletons from archaeological sites: A systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Pooled it
- Major histocompatibility complex-associated odour preferences and human mate choice: near and far horizons.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Pooled it
- Family-based genome-wide association study of leprosy in Vietnam.PLoS pathogens · 2020Trial
- Ancient DNA and Human Physiology.Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Review
- Ancient genomics study reveals low HLA diversity in eastern hunter-gatherers.Genome biology · 2026Article
- Ancient Mycobacterium leprae genomes reveal a potential origin and dispersal of the ancestral Branch 0.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Ancient DNA study provides clues to leprosy susceptibility in medieval Europe.Genome biology · 2026Article
- Detection ofVirulence · 2025Article
- HLA-DRB1*15:01 is associated with a reduced likelihood of longevity in northern European men.Genome medicine · 2025Article
- Genomic evidence for fisheries-induced evolution in Eastern Baltic cod.Science advances · 2025Article
- The outcasts, the sick, and the undead: atypical burials of the late medieval to modern greater Poland.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Admixture as a source for HLA variation in Neolithic European farming communities.Genome biology · 2025Article
- Ancient DNA HLA typing reveals significant shifts in frequency in Europe since the Neolithic.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Insights into Treponema pallidum genomics from modern and ancient genomes using a novel mapping strategy.BMC biology · 2025Article
- The origin of autoimmune diseases: is there a role for ancestral HLA-II haplotypes in immune hyperactivity.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- The genomic portrait of the Picene culture provides new insights into the Italic Iron Age and the legacy of the Roman Empire in Central Italy.Genome biology · 2024Article
- Neolithic Yersinia pestis infections in humans and a dog.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Elevated genetic risk for multiple sclerosis emerged in steppe pastoralist populations.Nature · 2024Article
- HLA Genes: A Hallmark of Functional Genetic Variation and Complex Evolution.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2024Review
- A melting pot of Roman dogs north of the Alps with high phenotypic and genetic diversity and similar diets.Scientific reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
23 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Leprosy, a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae), was very common in Europe till the 16th century. Here, we perform an ancient DNA study on medieval skeletons from Denmark that show lesions specific for lepromatous leprosy (LL). First, we test the remains for M. leprae DNA to confirm the infection status of the individuals and to assess the bacterial diversity. We assemble 10 complete M. leprae genomes that all differ from each other. Second, we evaluate whether the human leukocyte antigen allele DRB1*15:01, a strong LL susceptibility factor in modern populations, also predisposed medieval Europeans to the disease. The comparison of genotype data from 69 M. leprae DNA-positive LL cases with those from contemporary and medieval controls reveals a statistically significant association in both instances. In addition, we observe that DRB1*15:01 co-occurs with DQB1*06:02 on a haplotype that is a strong risk factor for inflammatory diseases today.
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