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Ethnicity affects the distribution of delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) genetic variants

Clin Chim Acta. 2006;367(1-2):192-5

Montenegro MF, Barbosa F Jr, Sandrim VC, Gerlach RF, Tanus-Santos JE.

BACKGROUND: delta-Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) catalyzes the second step of heme synthesis. The ALAD gene shows a polymorphism (G-to-C transversion at position 177) leading to 2 alleles (ALAD1 and ALAD2) and 3 phenotypes (ALAD 1-1, ALAD 1-2 and ALAD 2-2). This polymorphism has been shown to affect lead toxicity and the risk of meningioma. In addition, there is little evidence showing interethnic differences in the distribution this polymorphism, especially in heterogeneous populations such as the present-day Brazilian population. We examined the distribution of genetic variants of the G177C ALAD polymorphism in black and white Brazilians. METHODS: We studied 115 subjects self-reported as black and