Biomedical subjects

Jamila El Baghdadi

Publications and source records attributed to Jamila El Baghdadi.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

The Neanderthal-Derived 3p21 Haplotype at LZTFL1 in Modern-Day Moroccans Is Associated With COVID-19 Severity and Further Suggests the Presence of Neanderthals in North Africa.

There is considerable variability in the clinical presentation of COVID-19 among patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified the 12q24.13 and 3p21.31 regions, derived from Neanderthal DNA, as the human genetic loci most strongly associated with COVID-19 severity. We examined in this study the 3p locus in the Moroccan population by analysing allele and haplotype frequencies at the LZTFL1 gene and their associations with COVID-19 outcomes. Three SNPs at LZTFL1, tagging the Neanderthal-derived COVID-19 risk haplotype, were sequenced by Sanger's method in 102 ambulatory participants and 105 hospitalized patients and have been compared to 118 controls negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection using logistic regression analysis. Results showed that the prevalence of the lead variant rs11385942 in this locus was 8.9%, whereas the variants rs35044562 and rs13078854, which tag the Neanderthal haplotype, were present in only 6.3%. Our study showed that only the rs35044562-T and rs13078854-A alleles were associated with a 2.5-fold increased risk of severe COVID-19 (p = 0.028). These two alleles, in LD with the rs11385942-AA one, form the haplotype inherited from the Neanderthal, the only haplotype associated with COVID-19 severity in the Moroccan population (p = 0.030), whereas sub-Saharan African and the rare local haplotype also containing the rs11385942 variant do not influence the COVID-19 outcomes 19 (p > 0.05). Furthermore, our study showed that the Neanderthal haplotype at 3p21 locus exists in the inhabitants of Morocco at a frequency close to that of Europeans and suggests a close connection between North Africa and Eurasia.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

An autosomal dominant major gene confers predisposition to pulmonary tuberculosis in adults.

The molecular basis of genetic predisposition to pulmonary tuberculosis in adults remains largely elusive. Few candidate genes have consistently been implicated in tuberculosis susceptibility, and no conclusive linkage was found in two previous genome-wide screens. We report here a genome-wide linkage study in a total sample of 96 Moroccan multiplex families, including 227 siblings with microbiologically and radiologically proven pulmonary tuberculosis. A genome-wide scan conducted in half the sample (48 families) identified five regions providing suggestive evidence (logarithm of the odds [LOD] score >1.17; P < 0.01) for linkage. These regions were then fine-mapped in the total sample of 96 families. A single region of chromosome 8q12-q13 was significantly linked to tuberculosis (LOD score = 3.49; P = 3 x 10(-5)), indicating the presence of a major tuberculosis susceptibility gene. Linkage was stronger (LOD score = 3.94; P = 10(-5)) in the subsample of 39 families in which one parent was also affected by tuberculosis, whereas it was much lower (LOD score = 0.79) in the 57 remaining families without affected parents, supporting a dominant mode of inheritance of the major susceptibility locus. These results provide direct molecular evidence that human pulmonary tuberculosis has a strong genetic basis, and indicate that the genetic component involves at least one major locus with a dominant susceptibility allele.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Association of IL12RB1 polymorphisms with pulmonary tuberculosis in adults in Morocco.

Five disease-causing genes, including the IL12RB1 gene that encodes the beta 1 chain of the receptor for interleukin (IL)-12 (IL-12R beta 1), are known to be associated with the syndrome of Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases. Some IL-12R beta 1-deficient patients present with tuberculosis as the only clinical phenotype. A comprehensive genetic study of IL12RB1 was conducted among 101 Moroccan families, including 157 offspring (age, >15 years) who had culture-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). The promoter, exons, and flanking intron regions of IL12RB1 in 40 randomly selected patients with PTB were entirely sequenced, leading to the detection of 19 variants (including 10 novel mutations). Blood cells obtained from individuals who were homozygous for any of the 13 most common variants responded to IL-12, indicating that these polymorphisms were not loss-of-function mutations. By use of a family-based study, 2 promoter polymorphisms that were in strong linkage disequilibrium were found to be associated with PTB, especially -2C-->T (odds ratio for CT or TT vs. CC, 2.69 [95% confidence interval, 1.19-6.09]). This result suggests that IL12RB1 polymorphisms might influence the risk of development of PTB in adults.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Genetic diversity and population structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Casablanca, a Moroccan city with high incidence of tuberculosis.

Although lower-resource countries have by far the highest burden of tuberculosis, knowledge of Mycobacterium tuberculosis population structure and genetic diversity in these regions remains almost nonexistent. In this paper, 150 Moroccan M. tuberculosis isolates circulating in Casablanca were genotyped by random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis using 10 different primers and by mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number of tandem repeats typing at 12 loci. The population genetic tests revealed a basically clonal structure for this population, without excluding rare genetic exchanges. Genetic analysis also showed a notable genetic polymorphism for the species M. tuberculosis, a weak cluster individualization, and an unexpected genetic diversity for a population in such a high-incidence community. Phylogenetic analyses of this Moroccan sample also supported that these isolates are genetically heterogeneous.

Genetic Variation↗