OBJECTIVES: To investigate the ethnic origin of Chuanqing people, one of the largest unidentified ethnic groups in Guizhou, China, and analyze its genetic relationships with surrounding populations. METHODS: Based on a self-developed microhaplotype system, we conducted genotyping and analyzed the genetic distribution of microhaplotype loci and their forensic applicability in Chuanqing population in Guizhou Province. Using the microhaplotype data from different intercontinental populations and previously reported data from Han population living in Guizhou Province, we systematically investigated the genetic background of Chuanqing people through population genetic approaches, including genetic distance estimation, principal component analysis, and phylogenetic tree construction. RESULTS: Among the studied population, the number of haplotype per microhaplotype ranged from 6 to 25. The average expected heterozygosity (He), observed heterozygosity (Ho), power of discrimination (PD), and probability of exclusion (PE) were 0.8291, 0.8301, 0.9387, and 0.6593, respectively. The cumulative power of discrimination (CPD) and cumulative probability of exclusion (CPE) for these 33 loci were 1-2.62×10^-41 and 1-7.64×10^-17, respectively. Population genetic analyses revealed that the Chuanqing population had close genetic relationships with the East Asian populations, especially the local Guizhou Han population, Beijing Han population and the Han populations living in southern China. CONCLUSIONS The 33 microhaplotypes exhibit high levels of genetic diversity in the Guizhou Chuanqing population, highlighting their potentials for both forensic identification and parentage testing. The Han populations might have contributed a significant amount of genetic material to the Chuanqing population during the formation and development of the latter.
Humans ; China/ethnology* ; Ethnicity/genetics* ; Forensic Genetics/methods* ; Genetics, Population ; Genotype ; Haplotypes ; Phylogeny ; East Asian People/genetics*

AIM: To investigate the role of histidine-rich glycoprotein(HRG)in the neovascularization of diabetic retinopathy in rats.METHODS: Streptozocin(STZ)-induced diabetic Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were utilized as an experimental model, the protein expression of HRG and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in the retinas of normal(Wild type, WT)and diabetic(diabetic mellitus, DM)groups was detected using Western blot(WB). The protein expression of HRG in high-glucose-induced human retinal microvascular endothelial cells(hRMECs)was verified by WB after transfection with HRG small interfering RNA(siRNA)low-expression sequences. The optimal si-HRG#298 sequence was selected for further experiments. In the animal experiment, HRG gene silencing was achieved using an adeno-associated virus(AAV)vector, with AAV2-sh-NC and AAV2-sh-HRG#298 serving as the HRG gene silencing group and the HRG empty vector control group, respectively. The protein expression of HRG and VEGF in each group was then detected by WB following the verification of HRG protein expression. Retinal structural changes were observed by HE staining, and neovascularization changes were observed by PAS staining.RESULTS: HE staining found that the retinal structure in the DM group was disordered, the number of cells in the ganglion cell layer decreased, the number of cells in the inner and outer nuclear layers decreased, and the total retinal thickness also decreased(P<0.05); cellular capillaries were significantly increased in DM rats observed by PAS staining(P<0.05); the protein expression of HRG and angiogenesis factor VEGF was up-regulated in the retina of DM group(P<0.05); the protein expression of HRG was significantly downregulated in high glucose-induced hRMECs(P<0.05); the inhibition of neovascularization in diabetic retinas and the downregulation of VEGF protein expression were achieved through HRG gene silencing(P<0.05).CONCLUSION: HRG promotes neovascularization in the retinas of diabetic rats, and HRG gene silencing can inhibit neovascularization.