Integrating Statistical Imputation of HLA and KIR Alleles into Studies of Disease in Diverse Human Populations

免疫系统基因与许多感染性和自身免疫性疾病以及癌症密切相关。由于自然选择对病原体的反应，这些基因中的一些具有许多可能的类型。这种可变性使得这些基因的分型非常昂贵。开发准确和廉价的方法来对这些基因进行分型，对于了解它们在疾病易感性和进展中的作用至关重要，对于开发更好的诊断测试和治疗方法也很重要。

Immune system genes are strongly implicated in many infectious and autoimmune diseases, as well as cancer. Some of these genes have many possible types due to natural selection in response to pathogens. This variability makes typing these genes very expensive. Developing accurate and inexpensive methods to type these genes is vital in understanding the role they play in susceptibility and progression of disease and will be important for the development of better diagnostic tests and treatments.