Aim: To study the gene polymorphisms of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), and cytochrome CYP2E1 in patients with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis (ACP) and to compare them with laboratory and instrumental findings.
Subjects and methods: Seventy-two patients with ACP and 80 healthy individuals were examined. Polymorphic DNA loci were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction of DNA synthesis, followed by electrophoretic detection. Polymorphism in genes involved in ethanol metabolism was studied.
Results: The patents with ACP had mutations in the genes involved in ethanol metabolism. The study results of the rate of the alleles and genotypes of ADH, ALDH, and CYP2E1 genes were controversial. However, investigating the combinations of the genotypes of ADH and ALDH revealed that the patients having ADH1 B*47His and ALDH2*2 genotypes had a much higher risk for ACP and constituted more than 50% of the ACP patients. With this combination, ACP took its course with more evident structural and functional disorders of the pancreas. The CYP2E1 C/C homozygotes had an especially high risk of ACP.
Conclusion: The investigation perspectives are to increase the number of examined patients and apparently healthy individuals and to find correlations between clinical, laboratory, and instrumental parameters and genotyping findings. The results of these investigations can define the possible strategy of prevention of CAP.