Variation in APOL1 gene may contribute to high rates of kidney disease in African Americans.

Study Hypothesis African Americans have much higher rates of kidney failure than those of European ancestry. Previous genetic studies found variation at or near the MYH9 gene to be associated with increased risk of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and hypertension-attributed end-stage kidney disease (H-ESKD), but the causal mutations in MYH9 were not identified. The authors hypothesized that the kidney disease risk alleles might be located in a genomic region larger than previously thought, due to a strong signal of natural selection in the region containing the MYH9 and APOL1 genes.1