There's a gene known as the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC). A variant, known as "DARC-negative," is found exclusively in people of black African descent, and provides its possessors extra resistance to malaria -- much like the gene that causes sickle cell anemia does. Unfortunately, much like sickle cell anemia, it has a major downside : the DARC-negative variant leaves its carriers more vulnerable to HIV infection , a new study shows . About 90 percent of blacks in Africa have this variant; researchers estimated it may account for about 11 percent of HIV infections on the continent. An estimated 70 percent of African-Americans carry the gene. "The big message of this paper is that something that protected people against malaria in the past is now leaving them more susceptible to HIV," said Robin Weiss of University College London. "After thousands of years of adaptation, this Duffy variant rose to high frequency because it helped protect against malaria," added Matthew Dolan of the Wilford Hall United States Air Force Medical Center and San Antonio Military Medical Center. "Now, with another global pandemic on the scene, this same variant renders people more susceptible to HIV. It shows the complex interplay between historically important diseases and susceptibility in contemporary times." Interestingly, however, the DARC-negative variant slows the progression of HIV , allowing people to live about two years longer ...
Anytime
There's a gene known as the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC). A variant, known as "DARC-negative," is found exclusively in people of black African descent, and provides its possessors extra resistance to malaria -- much like the gene that causes sickle cell anemia does. Unfortunately, much like sickle cell anemia, it has a major downside : the DARC-negative variant leaves its carriers more vulnerable to HIV infection , a new study shows . About 90 percent of blacks in Africa have this variant; researchers estimated it may account for about 11 percent of HIV infections on the continent. An estimated 70 percent of African-Americans carry the gene. "The big message of this paper is that something that protected people against malaria in the past is now leaving them more susceptible to HIV," said Robin Weiss of University College London. "After thousands of years of adaptation, this Duffy variant rose to high frequency because it helped protect against malaria," added Matthew Dolan of the Wilford Hall United States Air Force Medical Center and San Antonio Military Medical Center. "Now, with another global pandemic on the scene, this same variant renders people more susceptible to HIV. It shows the complex interplay between historically important diseases and susceptibility in contemporary times." Interestingly, however, the DARC-negative variant slows the progression of HIV , allowing people to live about two years longer ...