Frequencies of three CYP2D6 nonfunctional alleles (CYP2D6*3, *4, and *6) within an Iranian population (Mazandaran).

Although the frequencies of CYP2D6 nonfunctional alleles have been extensively studied in most populations worldwide, limited information is available for those of the Iranian population. The present study aimed to determine the frequency of three CYP2D6 nonfunctional alleles (CYP2D6*3, *4, and *6) in the Mazandarani ethnic group among the Iranian population. A total of 100 unrelated healthy subjects living in Mazandaran, a Caspian province in the north of Iran, were selected. Lymphocytic genomic DNA was genotyped by a polymerase chain reaction amplification method for detection of three nonfunctional alleles. Finally, the obtained data were used to determine the frequencies of the three alleles, and the results were compared with published data from other populations. The frequencies for CYP2D6 alleles *3, *4, and *6 were 0.5%, 9%, and 0.5%, respectively. Homozygous or compound heterozygous genotypes that predict poor metabolizer phenotype, that is, *4/*4 or *4/*6, were not found in this study. The result of the present study showed that CYP2D6*4 is the major nonfunctional allele found in Mazandarani subjects. In addition, the three inactive alleles of CYP2D6 accounted for 10% of CYP2D6 alleles in our sample versus 0.2%-25.2% reported in other populations. The frequencies of the studied alleles resulted in significant differences between our sample and East Asians, Black-Tanzanians, Saudi Arabians, and Caucasians.