Metabolic profile of nicotine in subjects whose CYP2A6 gene is deleted.

Generally, 70-80% of absorbed nicotine is mainly metabolized to cotinine by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2A6. There is genetic polymorphism in the human CYP2A6 gene. Among several mutated alleles, CYP2A6*4 allele is a whole deleted type.

Effects of polymorphism in promoter region of human CYP2A6 gene (CYP2A6*9) on expression level of messenger ribonucleic acid and enzymatic activity in vivo and in vitro.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2A6 catalyzes nicotine C-oxidation, leading to cotinine formation, a major metabolic pathway of nicotine in humans. There are genetic polymorphisms in the human CYP2A6 gene. Previously, we demonstrated that in vivo nicotine metabolism is impaired with the CYP2A6*4, CYP2A6*7, and CYP2A6*10 alleles in Japanese subjects and Korean subjects.