Frontiers in Bioscience-Elite (FBE) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 2 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
Effects of acetaldehyde inhalation in mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase deficient mice (Aldh2-/-)
Human body might be exposed to acetaldehyde from smoking or occupational environment, which is known to be associated with cancer through the formation of DNA adducts, in particular, N2-ethylidene-2'-deoxyguanosine (N2-ethylidene-dG). Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is the major enzyme that contribute to the detoxification of acetaldehyde in human body. In this study, wild type (Aldh2+/+) and Aldh2KO (Aldh2-/-) mice were exposed to the air containing 0, 125, 500 ppm acetaldehyde for 2 weeks. After inhalation, levels of N2-ethylidene-dG in the chromosomal DNA were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). N2-ethylidene-dG levels in livers of Aldh2-/- mice were always lower than those of Aldh2+/+ mice, suggesting that Aldh2 deficiency might cause the induction of acetaldehyde metabolizing enzymes in the liver such as P450s. The differences between Aldh2-/- and Aldh2+/+ mice were greater in the order of nasal epithelium > lung > dorsal skin, suggesting that nasal epithelium and lung are the major target sites for acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde inhalation may cause a high risk in nasal epithelium and lung cancers for individuals with inactive ALDH2.