pubmed:abstractText |
Copy number variants (CNVs) account for a significant proportion of normal phenotypic variation and may have an important role in human pathological variation. The alpha-defensin cluster on human chromosome 8p23.1 is one of the better-characterized CNVs, in which high copy number variability affecting the DEFA1 and DEFA3 genes has been reported. Moreover, the DEFA3 gene has been found to be absent in a significant proportion of control population subjects. CNVs involving immune genes, such as alpha-defensins, are possibly contributing to innate immunity differences observed between individuals and influence predisposition and susceptibility to disease.
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