It has been suggested that a common functional genetic polymorphism in the COMT gene, which results in 3 to 4-fold difference in COMT enzyme activity, may contribute to the etiology of mental disorders such as bipolar disorder and alcoholism.
We have previously reported that a missense mutation in the TAS2R16 gene reduces the sensitivity of the receptor to bitter-taste stimuli and that it is associated with risk for alcohol dependence.
Ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) antagonism suppresses both alcohol consumption and the alcohol deprivation effect in rats following long-term voluntary alcohol consumption.
Different binding affinities of Pb2+ and Cu2+ to glycosylation variants of human serum transferrin interfere with the detection of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin.
Linkage studies of alcoholism have implicated several chromosome regions, leading to the successful identification of susceptibility genes, including ADH4 and GABRA2 on chromosome 4.
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.
However, the potential association between the T102C polymorphism (rs6313) in the type 2A serotonin receptor (HTR2A) gene and treatment outcomes in alcohol dependence has not been investigated.
Regular male drinkers without alcohol dependence (n = 112) ages 18-25 years participated in alcohol challenge sessions consisting of placebo and two doses of alcohol (target BrAC: 0 g/dl for placebo, .04 g/dl low dose, and .08 g/dl high dose) and genotyped for variants in ADH1B*3 and ADH1C*2.
We tested the most significant ADH1B single nucleotide polymorphisms for alcohol dependence from a genomewide association study with this sample, ADH1B-rs1229984 (Arg48His) and ADH1B-rs2066702 (Arg370Cys), in EA and AA subsamples, respectively.
In this study, we test for genetic effects of GABRA2, a gene previously associated with alcohol dependence, on trajectories of drunkenness from age 14 to 25.
Furthermore, the double-edged sword of ALDH2 gene and genetic polymorphism in alcoholism and alcoholic tissue damage and relevant patents will be discussed.