A representative gel of ALAD following a restriction fragment length digestion

Background: Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and population explosion in sub-Saharan Africa escalate environmental lead levels and subsequently blood lead levels in children. Its levels in one’s environment account for his/her blood lead levels. One’s susceptibility to lead toxicity is governed by his/her nutrition status, age and genetics. This study aimed at expounding susceptibility to lead toxicity by relating blood lead levels, delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) enzyme activity, and genetic variations of proteins that code for ALAD in urban children of Uganda.
Methods: A total of 198 blood samples were spectrophotometrically analyzed for blood lead levels (BLL), hemoglobin (Hb) levels, and ALAD enzyme activity before DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction, and restriction fragment length digestion for ALAD polymorphism. 
Results: Up to 99.5% of the total samples analysed coded for ALAD1 allele compared to 0.05% that coded for ALAD2. There was a significant relati...

背景：撒哈拉以南非洲地区的快速工业化、城市化与人口爆炸，导致环境铅含量及儿童血铅水平持续攀升。环境中的铅含量是个体血铅水平的决定性因素，而个体对铅毒性的易感性则受营养状况、年龄及遗传因素调控。本研究旨在通过关联乌干达城市儿童的血铅水平、δ-氨基乙酰丙酸脱水酶（delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase, ALAD）酶活性及编码ALAD的蛋白质遗传变异，阐明其对铅毒性的易感性机制。
方法：共采集198份血液样本，采用分光光度法分析血铅水平（blood lead levels, BLL）、血红蛋白（hemoglobin, Hb）水平及ALAD酶活性；随后进行DNA提取、聚合酶链式反应（polymerase chain reaction, PCR）及限制性片段长度消化，以检测ALAD基因多态性。
结果：在所有分析样本中，编码ALAD1等位基因的样本占比高达99.5%，而编码ALAD2等位基因的样本仅占0.05%。研究发现存在显著关联……