Alcohol dehydrogenase 1B and Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 Polymorphisms in Uzbekistan

The alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B) *2 (47His) allele and the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) *2(487Lys) allele are seen among some Asian peoples, but rare among other ethnic groups. This study examinedthe allele frequencies in the Uzbekistan Republic, which is located in Central Asia. Subjects were derived froma case-control study on peptic ulcer disease, which included 161 Uzbeks and 23 Russians. They were enrolled atthe Republic Research Center of Emergency Medicine located in the capital, Tashkent City. Genotyping wasperformed for ADH1B Arg47His and ALDH2 Glu487Lys with a polymerase chain reaction with confrontingtwo-pair primers. The frequency for the ADH1B *2 allele was similar among cases and controls. The ALDH2 *2allele was rare in both. Among 161 Uzbeks, the ADH1B *2 allele frequency was 0.286 (95% confidence interval,0.237-0.338) and for the ALDH2 *2 allele was 0.016 (0.005-0.036), while among the 23 Russians the figures were0.083 (0.024-0.208) and 0.000 (0.000-0.077), respectively. There were no significant differences in drinking habitsamong individuals with different genotypes, although ALDH2 *2*2 genotype was not observed. The presentstudy demonstrated that ADH1B *2 allele frequency among Uzbeks was closer to that among Caucasians thanEast Asians, some Uzbeks also demonstrating the ALDH2 *2 allele.