Recent studies from our laboratory indicate that 2,3-butanediol, one of two unusual metabolites found in human alcoholic blood, is predominantly associated with human subjects who suffer alcoholic hepatitis or alcoholic cirrhosis (Casazza et al., Alcohol and Alcoholism, Suppl. 1: 607-609, 1987). The mechanism of the formation of 2,3-butanediol via pyruvate dehydrogenase was initially proposed by Veech et al. (Curr. Top. Cell. Regul 18: 151- 179, 1981). Based on the proposal, we have just started a project to clone pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) gene and to characterized its gene in light of developing a specific probe for a genetic marker for human alcoholism.
