Variants of NAT2 polymorphisms: Intra and inter-ethnic differences

Abstract

N-Acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) gene is known for its polymorphism. The genetic variations leads to the change in the N-acetylation activity and these differences in the acetylation activity leads to the classification of the population into various groups such as rapid, intermediate and slow acetylators. In the present study, we identified different mutations and alleles by sequencing a stretch of 927 bp which covered exon 2 of NAT2 gene and is reported to have all the allelic variants reported till date. Previously identified mutations and some new allele sub-type were detected for NAT2 gene in the present study. Overall, we were able to classify 94 individuals into two distinct groups as slow and intermediate acetylators based on their genotype. Out of all the reported alleles, NAT2*4, *5, *6, *7 and *12 alleles were found in the studied population (n=94) and two new allele subtype NAT2*5P and NAT2*7C were detected in the studied population which have not been reported earlier. We did not observed any gender differences in the present study based on NAT2 acetylation activity.  

Keywords: N-Acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2), polymorphisms, slow acetylators, rapid acetylators.  

African Journal of Biotechnology, Vol 13(51) 4639-4646