Effect of gene polymorphisms and ethanol consumption on micronucleus frequency in human reticulocytes: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE

Results from previous studies suggest that alcohol consumption can be genotoxic on peripheral lymphocytes. The aim of our study was to examine the association of alcohol consumption and its genotoxic effect on hematopoietic stem cells in vivo.

METHODS

We investigated 156 healthy Japanese males in a cross-sectional study. Lifestyles, including alcohol drinking behavior and cigarette smoking status, were investigated by means of a self-completed questionnaire. Polymorphisms of ADH1B and ALDH2 were identified by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The presence of micronuclei in transferrin-positive reticulocytes (MN-RET) was detected with a single-laser flow cytometer. Associations between the genetic polymorphisms, lifestyle factors, and MN-RET frequency were statistically analyzed.

RESULTS

We found a significant difference in the mean frequencies of MN-RET between habitual drinkers and non-habitual drinkers (P = 0.043), and between the ALDH21/1 and ALDH22/2 genotype (P = 0.015). The ADH1B2 and ALDH22 haplotype was estimated to have a significantly higher influence on MN-RET frequency than the ADH1B2 and ALDH21 haplotype (P = 0.00035), and the frequency of alcohol consumption played a significant role in MN-RET frequency on the background of the ADH1B2 and ALDH21 haplotype (P = 0.012).

CONCLUSION

The results of our study suggest a possible association between the ADH1B and ALDH2 polymorphism and the genotoxic effects of alcohol drinking on hematopoietic stem cells.