A PCR-SBT protocol combined with cloning was used in this study, resolving ambiguity derived from different algorithms for HLA-G genotype imputation.
Three HLA-G alleles in the coding region, 4 polymorphic sites in the 3′UTR, 3 3′UTR haplotypes and 4 HLA-G EHs differed significantly in their distributions between the two representative Chinese Han populations (all P ≤ 0.0001).
There was evidence for balancing selection acting on HLA-G 3′UTR positions +3010, +3142 and +3187 in the two populations, emphasizing the importance of these positions in the regulation of HLA-G expression.