Nickan Research Institute Journal of Renal Injury Prevention 2345-2781 8 3 2019 09 01 APOL1 renal risk alleles in patients on chronic hemodialysis in Northwest of Iran 199 203 10.15171/jrip.2019.37 EN Sepideh Zununi Vahed https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0179-4562 Ehsan Rikhtegar Vahideh Ebrahimzadeh Attari https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7017-2129 Mehdi Haghi Ramin Tolouian https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2242-9310 Mohammadali Mohajel Shoja Mohammadreza Ardalan Journal Article 10.15171/jrip.2019.37 2019 03 06 2019 05 13 Introduction: Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) gene’s risk variants located on chromosome 22 are newly discovered factors for the development of chronic renal failure among African-American. These risk alleles were developed on the African continent as an evolutionary defense against sleep sickness due to Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and then spread with human migrations. Objectives: In the present study, we sought to examine these risk variants in a group of hemodialysis patients of Northwest of Iran. Patients and Methods: Two hundred patients receiving hemodialysis in different centers of the city (Tabriz in Northwest of Iran) were allocated randomly from a total number of 825 patients. The assessment of APOL1 polymorphisms (rs73885319, rs60910145, and rs71785313) was conducted using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Patients’ demographic data, history, and their biochemical parameters were recorded based on their last measurement. Results: No proposed renal risk variants of APOL1 gene in our hemodialysis population were found. All the participants had a wild genotype. Conclusion: The results of our study match with reports from Europe and Asia. In the paleoanthropological point of view, our results do not support African human migration hypothesis.