Polymorphisms in several genes on the short arm of chromosome 6 (6p), among them VEGF (6p12), FKBP5 (6p21.2), HLA-DR (6p21.3) and TNF-a (6p21.3), have been associated with inflammation and transplant outcome. Each of these genes is associated with acute rejection. Independent segregation of these genes is unproven, so we investigated linkage between distant genes on 6p and the putative existence of evolutionarily-conserved long-range 6p haplotypes.
