FREQUENCY OF THE ATYPICAL ALDEHYDE DEHYDROGENASE-2 GENE (ALDH-2(2)) IN JAPANESE AND CAUCASIANS

  • 1 November 1988
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 43  (5) , 741-743
Abstract
All Caucasians have two major aldehyde dehydrogenase isozymes-i.e., the cytosolic ALDH1 and the mitochondrial ALDH2.sbd.while approximately 50% of Orientals are atypical and lack the catalytically active ALDH2 in their tissues. The atypical ALDH22 gene has a nucleotide base change and produces the defective ALDH22 protein, which has a Glu .fwdarw. Lys substitution at the 14th position from the COOH-terminal (Yoshida et al. 1984; Hsu at et. 1985). With the use of a pair of synthetic oligonucleotides.sbd.one complementary to the usual ALDH21 and the other complementary to the atypical ALDH22-genotypes of 49 unrelated Japanese individuals and 12 Caucasians were determined. The frequency of the atypical ALDH22 allele was found to be .35 in the Japanese examined. The atypical ALDH22 gene was not found in the Caucasians.