CYP2E1 and ALDH2 genotypes and alcohol dependence in Japanese.

The genotypes of the CYP2E1 and ALDH2 loci of alcoholic (alcohol dependence) and nonalcoholic (healthy) Japanese were investigated to examine the relationship between the polymorphism of CYP2E1 (C1/C2) and ALDH2 (ALDH21/ALDH22), and the susceptibility to alcoholism. There was no significant difference in C2 gene frequency between alcoholics (0.19) and nonalcoholics (controls) (0.20), whereas there was a significant difference in ALDH2 allele frequency, suggesting that, in Japanese, the C2 genotype of CYP2E1 may have nothing to do with the risk of developing alcohol dependence. However, the ALDH2*1 allele may influence drinking behavior and the development of alcohol dependence. Furthermore, racial interethnic differences in the frequency of the mutated allele of the CYP2E1 gene (C2) were found, like the ALDH2 gene. Japanese healthy controls showed a significantly higher frequency of the C2 allele than did Swedish healthy controls (0.05; reported by Persson et al., FEBS Lett. 319:207-211, 1993).