FREQUENCY OF HUMAN CYP2D6 MUTANT ALLELES IN A NORMAL CHINESE POPULATION

Substantial differences in the pharmacogenetics of debrisoquine hydrox ylation exist between Caucasians and Chinese populations. Among Chines e, not only is the frequency of the poor metabolizer phenotype low, th e contribution of the 29B mutation in the CYP2D6 gene is insignificant . By contrast the frequency of D6-J is very common (similar to 0.6) an d is clearly related to the activity of debrisoquine hydroxylase. Its presence however, does not predict the poor metabolizer phenotype. The D6-C mutation was also not detectable in our population.