Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family, Member A3 (ALDH1A3)

Aldehyde dehydrogenase isozymes are thought to play a major role in the detoxification of aldehydes generated by alcohol metabolism and lipid peroxidation. The enzyme encoded by this gene uses retinal as a substrate, either in a free or cellular retinol-binding protein form. The ALDH6 cDNA is 3,457 bp long and contains an open reading frame encoding 512 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence shows that the protein is larger than human liver ALDH1 by 11 residues at the N terminus, and the degree of identity between the 2 isozymes is 70% with an alignment of 500 amino acid residues. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that the ALDH6 gene is expressed at low levels in many tissues and at higher levels in salivary gland, stomach, and kidney.