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Human alcohol dehydrogenase ADH2 and ADH3 polymorphisms in ethnic Chinese and Indians of West Malaysia

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Summary

Human alcohol dehydrogenase ADH2 and ADH3 were investigated in liver and stomach specimens of Chinese and Indians from West Malaysia. Eight-nine percent of the Chinese carry the atypical ADH2 type, a proportion very similar to that reported in Japanese. However, among 43 Indian specimens there was not a single case of atypical ADH2. In Indians, the gene frequency of ADH3 1 is 0.64 and of ADH3 2 0.36, similar to the frequencies in Caucasians, whereas in Chinese, the gene frequency for ADH3 1 and ADH3 2 is 0.91 and 0.09, respectively. We also report some unusual enzymatic characteristics in the course of our study.

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Teng, Y.S., Jehan, S. & Lie-Injo, L.E. Human alcohol dehydrogenase ADH2 and ADH3 polymorphisms in ethnic Chinese and Indians of West Malaysia. Hum Genet 53, 87–90 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289455

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