Dominance of the Inactive Asian Variant Over Activity and Protein Contents of Mitochondrial Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 in Human Liver

It has been well documented that a variant allele of mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), ALDH2*2, commonly occurs in East Asians but rarely in other ethnic populations. This unique allelic variation significantly influences drinking behavior and susceptibility to development of alcoholism. Previous structural, functional, and cellular studies indicate that the resulting variant