ALDH2 rs671 polymorphism is associated with athletic status and muscle phenotypes in the Japanese population

Abstract

Mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase‐2 (ALDH2) scavenges reactive aldehyde products, such as 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenal. Previous studies confirmed that the ALDH2 rs671 polymorphism is associated with hypertension and cancer, probably because of increased oxidative stress. Undesirable effects of ALDH2 rs671 might also be expected in skeletal muscles. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association of ALDH2 re671 polymorphism with athletic status and muscle phenotypes in the Japanese population.In the present study, 1,464 athletes (672 sprint/Power athletes, 631 mixed athletes, and 161 endurance) and 1,341 non‐athletes (538 men and 803 women) were included in the analysis. Saliva samples were collected with the Oragene DNA self‐collection kit. The ALDH2 rs671 polymorphism was genotyped using a TaqMan SNP genotyping assay. The non‐athletes completed a questionnaire about exercise habits and were subjected to a battery of tests to assess their muscular functions (including grip strength and the 30‐second chair stand test)The ALDH2 genotype frequencies among athletes and non‐athletes were in Hardy‐Weinberg equilibrium. The frequencies of the ALDH2 genotypes GG, GA, and AA were 56%, 37%, and 7% in the athletes, and 54%, 37%, and 9% in the non‐athletes, respectively. There was a significant difference of genotype frequencies between the athletes and the non‐athletes (p=0.008). Among the non‐athletes, those with GG and GA genotypes showed higher fitness score of grip strength (p=0.001) and the 30‐second chair stand test (p=0.013) than those with the AA genotype after adjusting for age, sex, and exercise habits.Our study shows that ALDH2 rs671 polymorphism is associated with athletic status and muscle phenotypes in the Japanese population, suggesting that impaired ALDH2 activity might attenuate muscular function.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.