Scientists have found a link between genetic variants from Neanderthals and a so-called “Viking disease”, Dupuytren’s contracture.
Dupuytren’s contracture, which causes fingers to lock into a bent position, affects up to 30% of men in northern Europe over 60, researchers say.
Called the Viking disease because it mainly affects individuals with northern European ancestry, it usually begins as a lump in the palm of the hand and develops, causing one or more fingers to lock in a bent position. Although it is usually not painful, the nodules can sometimes feel tender.
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, have worked with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany, to examine data from more than 7,000 affected individuals to look for genetic risk factors for the disease.
The findings, published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, show that three of the strongest risk factors are inherited from Neanderthals.
Neanderthals lived in Europe and western Asia until about 40,000 years ago, when they were replaced by modern humans. Before they disappeared, it is thought they mixed with modern humans, which means between 1-2% of the genomes of people with roots outside of Africa come from Neanderthals.
Hugo Zeberg, assistant professor at the department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, and one the study’s lead authors, said: “Since Dupuytren’s contracture is rarely seen in individuals of African descent, we wondered whether gene variants from Neanderthals can partly explain why people outside of Africa are affected.”
The researchers used data from three large clinical cohorts in the US, UK, and Finland, which enabled them to compare the genomes of 7,871 sufferers and 645,880 healthy controls.
They identified 61 genetic risk factors for Dupuytren’s contracture, of which three were inherited from Neanderthals. Two of these were the second and third most important risk factors.
“This is a case where the meeting with Neanderthals has affected who suffers from illness, although we should not exaggerate the connection between Neanderthals and Vikings,” added Zeberg.
Ågren R, Patil S, Zhou X et al. Major genetic risk factors for Dupuytren’s disease are inherited from Neanderthals. Molecular Biology and Evolution 15 June 2023; doi: 10.1093/molbev/msad130
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