APOL1 risk genotype in European steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome and/or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis patients of different African ancestries

Background Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) risk variants are strongly associated with sporadic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in populations with African ancestry. We determined the frequency of G1/G2 variants in steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS)/FSGS patients with African or French West Indies ancestry in France and its relationships with other SRNS genes. Methods In a cohort of 152 patients (139 families), the APOL1 risk variants were genotyped by direct Sanger sequencing and pathogenic mutations were screened by next-generation sequencing with a panel including 35 SRNS genes. Results The two risk allele [high-risk (HR)] genotypes were found in 43.1% (66/152) of subjects compared with 18.9% (106/562) in a control population (P Conclusions The HR genotype is frequent in FSGS patients with African ancestry in our cohort, especially in those originating from the West Indies, and confer a poor renal prognosis. It is usually not associated with other causative mutations in monogenic SRNS genes.