Takao A, Shimoda T, Kohno S, Asai S, Harda S
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Japan.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1998 May;101(5):576-80. doi: 10.1016/S0091-6749(98)70162-9.
Alcohol-induced asthma, a phenomenon characteristic of Asians, is due to differences in alcohol metabolism, particularly acetaldehyde metabolism. We investigated the effect of polymorphism in acetylaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene on the response to alcohol challenge testing in a group of Japanese asthmatic subjects and normal subjects.
Subjects were 32 asthmatic subjects and 30 healthy individuals. We measured the change in FEV1 after ingestion of 30 gm of ethanol. Blood ethanol, acetylaldehyde, and histamine concentrations were determined. ALDH2 gene type was established by polymerase chain reaction.
Ethanol provocation test results were positive in 15 (47% responders) asthmatic subjects. The blood ethanol concentration was similar in responders and nonresponders. The fall in FEV1 was associated with a rise in blood acetaldehyde and histamine concentrations. The response to oral ethanol challenge was positive in three (19%) of 16 patients with normal homozygote ALDH2 genotype, 10 (71%) of 14 patients with type mutant heterozygote, and two (100%) of two patients with type mutant homozygote ALDH2 genotype.
Alcohol-induced asthma is probably caused by increased blood acetaldehyde concentration resulting from abnormalities of ALDH2 enzyme activity based on ALDH2 genotype differences.
酒精诱发的哮喘是亚洲人特有的现象，这是由于酒精代谢，尤其是乙醛代谢的差异所致。我们在一组日本哮喘患者和正常受试者中研究了乙醛脱氢酶2（ALDH2）基因多态性对酒精激发试验反应的影响。
受试者包括32名哮喘患者和30名健康个体。我们测量了摄入30克乙醇后第一秒用力呼气量（FEV1）的变化。测定了血液中的乙醇、乙醛和组胺浓度。通过聚合酶链反应确定ALDH2基因类型。
15名（47%有反应者）哮喘患者的乙醇激发试验结果为阳性。有反应者和无反应者的血液乙醇浓度相似。FEV1的下降与血液乙醛和组胺浓度的升高有关。16名ALDH2基因正常纯合子患者中有3名（19%）对口服乙醇激发试验有阳性反应，14名突变型杂合子患者中有10名（71%），2名ALDH2基因突变更合子患者中有2名（100%）。
酒精诱发的哮喘可能是由于基于ALDH2基因差异的ALDH2酶活性异常导致血液乙醛浓度升高所致。
