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Liver alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase isozymes in a Chinese population in Hong Kong
1Department of Biochemistry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T.
Abstract:
The distribution of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) isozymes in the livers of a Chinese population in Hong Kong was examined. Among the 90 livers examined, 7 were typical ADH phenotype consisting the normal beta 1-type isozymes and 83 were atypical phenotype consisting the beta 2-type isozymes. Livers of 48 subjects were of deficient type in ALDH containing ALDH-II alone and 42 were of normal type with both ALDH-I and ALDH-II. When the combination of ADH and ALDH isozymes is considered, the Chinese population in Hong Kong falls into 4 subgroups. For each group, the rates of ethanol and acetaldehyde clearance have a distinct and characteristic potential which is directly related to its particular combination of isozymes.