Background: The N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) gene plays a crucial role in the metabolism of many drugs and xenobiotics. As it represents a likely target of population-specific selection pressures, we fully sequenced the NAT2 coding region in 97 Mandenka individuals from Senegal, and compared these sequences to extant data on other African populations. The Mandenka data were further included in a worldwide dataset composed of 41 published population samples (6,727 individuals) from four continental regions that were adequately genotyped for all common NAT2 variants so as to provide further insights into the worldwide haplotype diversity and population structure at NAT2.

Hepatic venoocclusive disease (HVOD) in bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is attributed to toxicity of cytoreductive agents, especially busulfan and cyclophosphamide, in the conditioning therapy. Busulfan, as well as the metabolites of cyclophosphamide, are conjugated with glutathione (GSH), catalyzed by enzymes of the glutathione S-transferase (GST) family. To assess the impact of polymorphisms of the GST genes, GSTM1 and GSTT1, on the risk of HVOD, we evaluated 114 consecutive patients with ␤-thalassemia major undergoing BMT. There was a significantly increased incidence of HVOD in patients with the GSTM1-null genotype compared with those with the GSTM1-positive genotype (46.5% vs 18.3%; P ‫؍‬ .001). Pharmacokinetic analysis in these patients showed that the clearance of busulfan was higher and first-dose steady-state concentration was lower among those with HVOD (0. 403

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