Genetic polymorphisms of the drug-metabolizing enzyme CYP2J2 in a Tibetan population

As an important metabolic enzyme, it is necessary to investigate the genetic polymorphisms of CYP2J2 among healthy Tibetan individuals. Genetic polymorphisms of CYP2J2 could affect enzyme activity and lead to differences among individual responses to drugs. We sequenced the whole gene of CYP2J2 in 100 unrelated, healthy Tibetan volunteers from the Tibet Autonomous Region and screened for genetic variants in the promoters, introns, exons, and the 3′-UTR regions. We detected 4 novel genetic polymorphisms of the CYP2J2 gene. The allelic frequencies of CYP2D6∗1 and ∗7 were 0.955 and 0.045, respectively. CYP2D6∗1/∗7 decreased the activity of CYP2J2 and was expressed in 9% of the sample population. Our results provided basic data about CYP2J2 polymorphisms in a Tibetan population, suggested that the enzymatic activities of CYP2J2 might be different within the ethnic group, and offered a theoretical basis for individualized medical treatment and drug genomics studies.