OBJECTIVETo observe the significant differences in the frequencies of the cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) alleles in Chinese popoulations.

METHODSTetra-primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR), allele specific amplification (ASA) PCR and multiplex long PCR were developed to detect the CYP2D6 alleles * 2, * 3, * 4, * 5, * 6, * 8, * 10 and * 14 in 223 subjects from Chinese mainland.

RESULTSThe CYP2D6 * 5 allele was the most frequent poor metabolizer (PM) allele in Chinese (7.2%), followed by CYP2D6 * 14 (2.0%) which was only detected in orientals. There was only 0.2% CYP2D6 * 4, and no CYP2D6 * 3, * 6 and * 8 were detected. In contrast to the Caucasians, the most frequent allele in Chinese was the * 10 allele with a frequency of 51.6%.

CONCLUSIONThe frequencies of PM alleles, CYP2D6 * 5 and CYP2D6 * 14, were higher; but the frequency of CYP2D6 * 10 was lower in mainland Chinese population than that in other orientals.