We addressed these questions by measuring telomere length (TL) in peripheral blood leukocytes of Japanese patients with alcohol dependence (AD) and examined the association between TL, genetic variants of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH)1B and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH)2, and other clinical characteristics.
Other ADH and ALDH variants, including functional variations in ADH1C, have also been implicated in affecting drinking behavior and risk for alcoholism.
This study provided initial evidence of a modifying effect for religious involvement on relationships between ADH variants and maximum drinks and alcohol dependence symptoms.
Gene variants encoding several of the alcohol-metabolizing enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), are among the largest genetic associations with risk for alcohol dependence.
In conclusion, the rare ADH1B rs1229984 mutation provides significant protection against ADS in this British and Irish population; other variants in the ADH gene cluster also alter ADS risk, although the strong linkage disequilibrium between SNPs at this location precluded clear identification of the variant(s) driving the associations.
The variants located within the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) cluster were significantly associated with alcohol dependence at the genome-wide level (p < 5 × 10(-8) ) in at least one sample.
It has been well documented that variant alleles of both ADH1B*2 of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and ALDH2*2 of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) protect against the development of alcoholism in East Asians.
In the present study, we comprehensively examined the associations between rare ADH variants [minor allele frequency (MAF) <0.05] and alcohol dependence, with several other neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders as reference.
This is the first GWAS of AD to provide genome-wide significant support for the role of the ADH gene cluster and to suggest a polygenic component to the etiology of AD.
The most well-established genetic factors associated with alcohol dependence are in the genes encoding alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which oxidizes alcohol to acetaldehyde, and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2), which oxidizes acetaldehyde to acetate.
Genotypes were available for 40 SNPs across the ADH genes cluster and 24 SNPs across the two ALDH genes in four diverse samples that included cases (lifetime AD) and controls (no Axis 1 disorders).
The results obtained in the study help not only to clarify the effects of different ADH SNPs but to better understand how these polymorphisms modify each other's effects in the development of alcoholism and related diseases.
The present study tested for associations between alcohol dependence and related traits and 22 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning the 7 ADH genes.
This will include the (1) DRD4 gene associated with attentiondeficit/ hyperactivity disorder, located in a locus that underwent a positive selection; the (2) GABRB2 gene, a gene associated with schizophrenia and recently reported as the target of a positive selection; (3) MARK1, a candidate gene for autism that was reported as displaying a signature of adaptative evolution in the human lineage, and (4) the ADH and ALDH2 genes which are associated with alcoholism, and for which evidence of positive selection was identified in the human lineage since the divergence between humans and chimpanzees.
Functional polymorphism in the genes encoding alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) 1B and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 2 are considered most important among several genetic determinants of alcohol dependence, a complex disorder.
Here, we briefly review recent advances in genomic studies of human ADH/ALDH families and alcoholism, with an emphasis on the pharmacogenetic consequences of venous blood acetaldehyde in the different ALDH2 genotypes following the intake of various doses of ethanol.
To investigate the effects of ADH and ALDH gene polymorphism on the development of alcoholism, alcohol liver cirrhosis and alcohol chronic pancreatitis among Polish individuals.