A model system for QTL analysis: Effects of alcohol dehydrogenase genotype on alcohol pharmacokinetics
- Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane (Australia)
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney (Australia)
There is much interest in the detection of quantitative trait loci (QTL) - major genes which affect quantitative phenotypes. The relationship of polymorphism at known alcohol metabolizing enzyme loci to alcohol pharmacokinetics is a good model system. The three class I alcohol dehydrogenase genes are clustered on chromosome 4 and protein electrophoresis has revealed polymorphisms at the ADH2 and ADH3 loci. While different activities of the isozymes have been demonstrated in vitro, little work has been done in trying to relate ADH polymorphism to variation in ethanol metabolism in vivo. We previously measured ethanol metabolism and psychomotor reactivity in 206 twin pairs and demonstrated that most of the repeatable variation was genetic. We have now recontacted the twins to obtain DNA samples and used PCR with allele specific primers to type the ADH2 and ADH3 polymorphisms in 337 individual twins. FISHER has been used to estimate fixed effects of typed polymorphisms simultaneously with remaining linked and unlinked genetic variance. The ADH2*1-2 genotypes metabolize ethanol faster and attain a lower peak blood alcohol concentration than the more common ADH2*1-1 genotypes, although less than 3% of the variance is accounted for. There is no effect of ADH3 genotype. However, sib-pair linkage analysis suggests that there is a linked polymorphism which has a much greater effect on alcohol metabolism that those typed here.
- OSTI ID:
- 133457
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-941009-; ISSN 0002-9297; TRN: 95:005313-0185
- Journal Information:
- American Journal of Human Genetics, Vol. 55, Issue Suppl.3; Conference: 44. annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, Montreal (Canada), 18-22 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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