The distribution of allelic and genotypic frequencies of N-Acetyltransferase-2 variants in an Argentine population.

INTRODUCTION Arylamine N-acetyltransferase-2 (NAT-2) is a key human enzyme in drug detoxification and elimination. Mutations in NAT-2 affect the activity of anti-tuberculosis drugs and result in three different phenotypes: rapid (RA), intermediate (IA) and slow acetylators (SA). METHODOLOGY The allelic, genotypic and phenotypic frequencies of NAT-2 were studied in 185 patients from Buenos Aires by restriction fragment length polymorphism. RESULTS The following allele frequencies were obtained: *4 = 29.9%, *5 = 37.0, *6 = 25.6%, *7 = 8% and *14 = 1.3%. With regard to the phenotype, we observed that 53.6% of the population was SA, 35.7% was IA and 10.7% was RA. CONCLUSION A high prevalence of SA might have an impact on anti-TB drug-induced hepatotoxicity.