The biochemistry of the carcinogenic alcohol metabolite acetaldehyde

Liam A Thomas; Richard J Hopkinson

doi:10.1016/j.dnarep.2024.103782

The biochemistry of the carcinogenic alcohol metabolite acetaldehyde

DNA Repair (Amst). 2024 Nov 5:144:103782. doi: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2024.103782. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Liam A Thomas¹, Richard J Hopkinson²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
² Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, School of Chemistry, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK. Electronic address: richard.hopkinson@leicester.ac.uk.

PMID: 39566398
DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2024.103782

Abstract

Acetaldehyde (AcH) is the first metabolite of ethanol and is proposed to be responsible for the genotoxic effects of alcohol consumption. As an electrophilic aldehyde, AcH can form multiple adducts with DNA and other biomolecules, leading to function-altering and potentially toxic and carcinogenic effects. In this review, we describe sources of AcH in humans, including AcH biosynthesis mechanisms, and outline the structures, properties and functions of AcH-derived adducts with biomolecules. We also describe human AcH detoxification mechanisms and discuss ongoing challenges in the field.

Keywords: Acetaldehyde; Cancer; Crosslink; DNA; Electrophile; Repair.