We next explored the sequence variation in human ALK to determine if polymorphisms in this gene may be correlated with alcohol responses in humans. We sequenced the entire coding sequence of ALK (29 exons) in 348 subjects, all of whom had their response to an oral alcohol challenge measured in a laboratory setting [31]. After rapidly consuming approximately three drinks, the level of response (LR), representing each subject's reaction to alcohol, was measured every 30 minutes. Two LR tests were performed, motor coordination as measured by anterior/posterior body sway (BSA) and lateral body sway (BSL), and subjective “high” feeling using the Subjective High Assessment Scale (SHAS). All polymorphisms discovered through sequencing were then tested by regression for correlation between genotype and quantitative LR measures taken at 60 minutes post alcohol ingestion, the time-point when alcohol LR maximizes (see Materials and Methods for details).
