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How alcohol may impact DNA. Ethanol is metabolized to acetaldehyde (AA) by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) and catalase. AA is metabolized to acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2). Catalase and CYP2E1 are particularly relevant to ethanol metabolism in brain tissue. The CYP2E1-dependent pathway is a major contributor to ethanol-generated reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS induce DNA damage
