THE HUMAN DEBRISOQUINE 4-HYDROXYLASE (CYP2D) LOCUS - SEQUENCE AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE POLYMORPHIC CYP2D6 GENE, A RELATED GENE, AND A PSEUDOGENE

  • 1 December 1989
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 45  (6) , 889-904
Abstract
The debrisoquine-4-hydroxylase polymorphism is a genetic variation in oxidative drug metabolism characterized by two phenotypes, th extensive metabolizer (EM) and poor metabolizer (PM). Of the Caucasian populations of Europe and North America, 5%-10% are of the PM phenotype and are unable to metabolize debrisoquine and numerous other drugs. The defect is caused by several mutant alleles of the CYP2D6 gene, two of which are detected in about 70% of PMs. We have constructed a genomic library from lymphocyte DNA of and EM positively identified by pedigree analyis to be homozygous for the normal CYP2D6 allele. The normal CYP2D6 gene was isolated; was completely sequenced, including 1,531 and 3,522 bp of 5'' and 3'' flanking DNA, respectively; and was found to contain nine exons within 4,378 bp. Two other genes, designated CYP2D7 and CYP2D8P, were also cloned and sequenced. CYP2D8P contains several gene-disrupting insertions, deletions, and termination codons within its exons, indicating that this is a pseudogene. CYP2D7, which is just downstream of CYP2D8P, is apparently normal, except for the presence of a pseudogene within the CYP2D subfamily transfers detrimental mutants via gene conversions into the CYP2D6 gene, thus accounting for the high frequency of mutants observed in the CYP2D6 gene in humans.