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Primary topic: NAT2 slow acetylator gene

NAT2 Gene and Metabolism: What It Means for Your Body

NAT2 is a classic detoxification pathway gene that affects how quickly certain compounds are acetylated and cleared.

What is the NAT2 gene?

NAT2 encodes an enzyme involved in acetylation, one of the body’s biotransformation steps used to process compounds before elimination.

How NAT2 affects metabolism

Slower NAT2-related acetylation can make some exposures or compounds linger longer. That matters most under higher chemical load, medication exposure, or when combined with other detoxification constraints.

What happens when NAT2 is altered

Altered NAT2 function is not a blanket explanation for “poor detox,” but it can contribute to a lower margin for handling load in specific contexts.

Curated SNP evidence for NAT2

These SNPs come from the approved study-level evidence model. Each claim is scored from curated study rows, then gated before it can influence pathway scoring.

Caffeine / stimulant sensitivity Oxidative stress

Evidence-backed report connection

NAT2 currently has 4 curated SNPs, 15 claim-level scores, and 6 claims eligible for pathway scoring.

Open the sample report
rs1495741NAT2 acetylator tag SNP1 claims · 2 study rows

enzyme activity · G

NAT2 acetylator status tendency

Strong

rs1495741 G near NAT2 tags higher NAT2 acetylator activity tendency in populations of European background.

NAT2 rs1495741 G is staged as a rapid-acetylator tag allele for NAT2 activity tendency.

Likely effectHigher enzyme activity signal
Signal sizeSmall signal
Evidence supportStrong support
Report useIncluded in pathway scoring
Show study evidence
PMCID PMC3003749biomarker association · directThe checked source reports that rs1495741 predicts the 7-SNP inferred NAT2 phenotype with high sensitivity/specificity in European-background populations and that rs1495741 genotypes were strongly related to NAT2 catalytic activity in cryopreserved human hepatocytes.PMCID PMC4079945gwas · close proxyThe checked GWAS source identifies rs1495741 as an NAT2 acetylator-status tag SNP and states that the fast-acetylator genotype was associated with lower skin fluorescence and glyoxal-derived AGE measures.
rs1799930NAT2 supporting signal10 claims · 30 study rows

enzyme activity · AA

NAT2 enzyme activity

Strong

rs1799930 AA is associated with reduced NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799930 is scored as a lower acetylation-enzyme activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for one A copy.

Likely effectLower enzyme activity signal
Signal sizeModerate signal
Evidence supportStrong support
Report useIncluded in pathway scoring
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799930 in NAT2 and annotates the common G>A change as NM_000015.3:c.590G>A, a missense change from arginine to glutamine in NAT2. The same record includes rarer C and T alleles, so those genotypes are handled conservatively.ClinVar recordclinical curation · directClinVar Variation ID 722 links rs1799930 with slow acetylator due to an N-acetyltransferase enzyme variant in a drug-response context. This supports lower NAT2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes while avoiding disease prediction.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 acetylator-phenotype study includes rs1799930 in multi-SNP panels used to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator status and states that a four-SNP panel has high accuracy. This supports using rs1799930 as a meaningful but incomplete single-SNP activity tendency.

enzyme activity · AG

NAT2 enzyme activity

Moderate

rs1799930 AG is associated with reduced NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799930 is scored as a lower acetylation-enzyme activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for one A copy.

Likely effectLower enzyme activity signal
Signal sizeSmall signal
Evidence supportModerate support
Report useIncluded in pathway scoring
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799930 in NAT2 and annotates the common G>A change as NM_000015.3:c.590G>A, a missense change from arginine to glutamine in NAT2. The same record includes rarer C and T alleles, so those genotypes are handled conservatively.ClinVar recordclinical curation · directClinVar Variation ID 722 links rs1799930 with slow acetylator due to an N-acetyltransferase enzyme variant in a drug-response context. This supports lower NAT2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes while avoiding disease prediction.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 acetylator-phenotype study includes rs1799930 in multi-SNP panels used to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator status and states that a four-SNP panel has high accuracy. This supports using rs1799930 as a meaningful but incomplete single-SNP activity tendency.

enzyme activity · AC

NAT2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs1799930 AC is associated with reduced NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799930 is scored as a lower acetylation-enzyme activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for one A copy.

Likely effectLower enzyme activity signal
Signal sizeSmall signal
Evidence supportLimited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799930 in NAT2 and annotates the common G>A change as NM_000015.3:c.590G>A, a missense change from arginine to glutamine in NAT2. The same record includes rarer C and T alleles, so those genotypes are handled conservatively.ClinVar recordclinical curation · directClinVar Variation ID 722 links rs1799930 with slow acetylator due to an N-acetyltransferase enzyme variant in a drug-response context. This supports lower NAT2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes while avoiding disease prediction.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 acetylator-phenotype study includes rs1799930 in multi-SNP panels used to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator status and states that a four-SNP panel has high accuracy. This supports using rs1799930 as a meaningful but incomplete single-SNP activity tendency.

enzyme activity · AT

NAT2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs1799930 AT is associated with reduced NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799930 is scored as a lower acetylation-enzyme activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for one A copy.

Likely effectLower enzyme activity signal
Signal sizeSmall signal
Evidence supportLimited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799930 in NAT2 and annotates the common G>A change as NM_000015.3:c.590G>A, a missense change from arginine to glutamine in NAT2. The same record includes rarer C and T alleles, so those genotypes are handled conservatively.ClinVar recordclinical curation · directClinVar Variation ID 722 links rs1799930 with slow acetylator due to an N-acetyltransferase enzyme variant in a drug-response context. This supports lower NAT2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes while avoiding disease prediction.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 acetylator-phenotype study includes rs1799930 in multi-SNP panels used to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator status and states that a four-SNP panel has high accuracy. This supports using rs1799930 as a meaningful but incomplete single-SNP activity tendency.

enzyme activity · CC

NAT2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs1799930 CC has no scored directional claim for NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799930 is scored as a lower acetylation-enzyme activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for one A copy.

Likely effectNo clear enzyme signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799930 in NAT2 and annotates the common G>A change as NM_000015.3:c.590G>A, a missense change from arginine to glutamine in NAT2. The same record includes rarer C and T alleles, so those genotypes are handled conservatively.ClinVar recordclinical curation · directClinVar Variation ID 722 links rs1799930 with slow acetylator due to an N-acetyltransferase enzyme variant in a drug-response context. This supports lower NAT2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes while avoiding disease prediction.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 acetylator-phenotype study includes rs1799930 in multi-SNP panels used to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator status and states that a four-SNP panel has high accuracy. This supports using rs1799930 as a meaningful but incomplete single-SNP activity tendency.

enzyme activity · CG

NAT2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs1799930 CG has no scored directional claim for NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799930 is scored as a lower acetylation-enzyme activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for one A copy.

Likely effectNo clear enzyme signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799930 in NAT2 and annotates the common G>A change as NM_000015.3:c.590G>A, a missense change from arginine to glutamine in NAT2. The same record includes rarer C and T alleles, so those genotypes are handled conservatively.ClinVar recordclinical curation · directClinVar Variation ID 722 links rs1799930 with slow acetylator due to an N-acetyltransferase enzyme variant in a drug-response context. This supports lower NAT2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes while avoiding disease prediction.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 acetylator-phenotype study includes rs1799930 in multi-SNP panels used to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator status and states that a four-SNP panel has high accuracy. This supports using rs1799930 as a meaningful but incomplete single-SNP activity tendency.

enzyme activity · CT

NAT2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs1799930 CT has no scored directional claim for NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799930 is scored as a lower acetylation-enzyme activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for one A copy.

Likely effectNo clear enzyme signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799930 in NAT2 and annotates the common G>A change as NM_000015.3:c.590G>A, a missense change from arginine to glutamine in NAT2. The same record includes rarer C and T alleles, so those genotypes are handled conservatively.ClinVar recordclinical curation · directClinVar Variation ID 722 links rs1799930 with slow acetylator due to an N-acetyltransferase enzyme variant in a drug-response context. This supports lower NAT2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes while avoiding disease prediction.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 acetylator-phenotype study includes rs1799930 in multi-SNP panels used to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator status and states that a four-SNP panel has high accuracy. This supports using rs1799930 as a meaningful but incomplete single-SNP activity tendency.

enzyme activity · GG

NAT2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs1799930 GG has no scored directional claim for NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799930 is scored as a lower acetylation-enzyme activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for one A copy.

Likely effectNo clear enzyme signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799930 in NAT2 and annotates the common G>A change as NM_000015.3:c.590G>A, a missense change from arginine to glutamine in NAT2. The same record includes rarer C and T alleles, so those genotypes are handled conservatively.ClinVar recordclinical curation · directClinVar Variation ID 722 links rs1799930 with slow acetylator due to an N-acetyltransferase enzyme variant in a drug-response context. This supports lower NAT2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes while avoiding disease prediction.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 acetylator-phenotype study includes rs1799930 in multi-SNP panels used to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator status and states that a four-SNP panel has high accuracy. This supports using rs1799930 as a meaningful but incomplete single-SNP activity tendency.

enzyme activity · GT

NAT2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs1799930 GT has no scored directional claim for NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799930 is scored as a lower acetylation-enzyme activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for one A copy.

Likely effectNo clear enzyme signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799930 in NAT2 and annotates the common G>A change as NM_000015.3:c.590G>A, a missense change from arginine to glutamine in NAT2. The same record includes rarer C and T alleles, so those genotypes are handled conservatively.ClinVar recordclinical curation · directClinVar Variation ID 722 links rs1799930 with slow acetylator due to an N-acetyltransferase enzyme variant in a drug-response context. This supports lower NAT2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes while avoiding disease prediction.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 acetylator-phenotype study includes rs1799930 in multi-SNP panels used to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator status and states that a four-SNP panel has high accuracy. This supports using rs1799930 as a meaningful but incomplete single-SNP activity tendency.

enzyme activity · TT

NAT2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs1799930 TT has no scored directional claim for NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799930 is scored as a lower acetylation-enzyme activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, strongest for AA and intermediate for one A copy.

Likely effectNo clear enzyme signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799930 in NAT2 and annotates the common G>A change as NM_000015.3:c.590G>A, a missense change from arginine to glutamine in NAT2. The same record includes rarer C and T alleles, so those genotypes are handled conservatively.ClinVar recordclinical curation · directClinVar Variation ID 722 links rs1799930 with slow acetylator due to an N-acetyltransferase enzyme variant in a drug-response context. This supports lower NAT2 enzyme-activity tendency for A-containing genotypes while avoiding disease prediction.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 acetylator-phenotype study includes rs1799930 in multi-SNP panels used to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator status and states that a four-SNP panel has high accuracy. This supports using rs1799930 as a meaningful but incomplete single-SNP activity tendency.
rs1799931NAT2 supporting signal3 claims · 9 study rows

enzyme activity · AA

NAT2 enzyme activity

Strong

rs1799931 AA is associated with reduced NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799931 is scored as a lower NAT2 acetylation-activity tendency when the A allele is present, strongest for AA and intermediate for AG.

Likely effectLower enzyme activity signal
Signal sizeModerate signal
Evidence supportModerate support
Report useIncluded in pathway scoring
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799931 in NAT2 and annotates the common A allele as NM_000015.3:c.857G>A, a Gly286Glu missense change. This supports scoring A-containing genotypes as the coding-change genotypes for this simplified record.PubMed 37592049functional assay · directA functional NAT2 study describes rs1799931 G857A as the signature change in NAT2*7B and reports substrate-dependent reduction of NAT2-catalyzed O-acetylation for some tested heterocyclic amine metabolites. This supports a lower NAT2 activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, with a stronger score for AA than AG.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 phenotype-panel study used rs1799931 together with other NAT2 SNPs to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator phenotypes. This supports treating rs1799931 as informative for NAT2 activity, while limiting certainty because NAT2 acetylator status is usually haplotype-based rather than determined by this SNP alone.

enzyme activity · AG

NAT2 enzyme activity

Moderate

rs1799931 AG is associated with reduced NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799931 is scored as a lower NAT2 acetylation-activity tendency when the A allele is present, strongest for AA and intermediate for AG.

Likely effectLower enzyme activity signal
Signal sizeSmall signal
Evidence supportModerate support
Report useIncluded in pathway scoring
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799931 in NAT2 and annotates the common A allele as NM_000015.3:c.857G>A, a Gly286Glu missense change. This supports scoring A-containing genotypes as the coding-change genotypes for this simplified record.PubMed 37592049functional assay · directA functional NAT2 study describes rs1799931 G857A as the signature change in NAT2*7B and reports substrate-dependent reduction of NAT2-catalyzed O-acetylation for some tested heterocyclic amine metabolites. This supports a lower NAT2 activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, with a stronger score for AA than AG.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 phenotype-panel study used rs1799931 together with other NAT2 SNPs to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator phenotypes. This supports treating rs1799931 as informative for NAT2 activity, while limiting certainty because NAT2 acetylator status is usually haplotype-based rather than determined by this SNP alone.

enzyme activity · GG

NAT2 enzyme activity

Not used for pathway scoring

rs1799931 GG has no scored directional claim for NAT2 enzyme activity.

NAT2 rs1799931 is scored as a lower NAT2 acetylation-activity tendency when the A allele is present, strongest for AA and intermediate for AG.

Likely effectNo clear enzyme signal
Signal sizeMinimal signal
Evidence supportVery limited support
Report useEvidence only, not scored
Show study evidence
NCBI RefSNP recordidentity only · unknownNCBI RefSNP places rs1799931 in NAT2 and annotates the common A allele as NM_000015.3:c.857G>A, a Gly286Glu missense change. This supports scoring A-containing genotypes as the coding-change genotypes for this simplified record.PubMed 37592049functional assay · directA functional NAT2 study describes rs1799931 G857A as the signature change in NAT2*7B and reports substrate-dependent reduction of NAT2-catalyzed O-acetylation for some tested heterocyclic amine metabolites. This supports a lower NAT2 activity tendency for A-containing genotypes, with a stronger score for AA than AG.PMC3285565other · loose proxyA NAT2 phenotype-panel study used rs1799931 together with other NAT2 SNPs to infer rapid, intermediate, and slow acetylator phenotypes. This supports treating rs1799931 as informative for NAT2 activity, while limiting certainty because NAT2 acetylator status is usually haplotype-based rather than determined by this SNP alone.
rs1801280NAT2 I114T / NAT2*5 marker1 claims · 2 study rows

enzyme activity · C

arylamine acetylation activity tendency

Strong

rs1801280 C / NAT2 Ile114Thr is associated with lower arylamine acetylation activity tendency.

NAT2 rs1801280 C is staged as a lower NAT2 acetylation activity allele and NAT2*5 slow-acetylator marker.

Likely effectLower enzyme activity signal
Signal sizeModerate signal
Evidence supportStrong support
Report useIncluded in pathway scoring
Show study evidence
PMCID PMC2507886functional assay · directThe checked NAT2 structure-function source identifies T341C / rs1801280 / I114T and reports that I114T causes slow acetylator phenotype in recombinant bacterial and yeast systems with reduced active enzyme.PMCID PMC3285565functional assay · directThe checked human hepatocyte source includes rs1801280 in NAT2 genotyping panels and reports 341T>C activities differed significantly across homozygous common, heterozygote, and homozygous variant samples, consistent with lower SMZ N-acetyltransferase activity.

Common symptoms people report

  • feeling more sensitive to chemical exposures
  • lingering effects from some medications or compounds
  • headaches or fatigue after higher exposure load
  • poor tolerance to heavy environmental or supplement stacks

Biomarkers to validate

Liver panel

Useful baseline context when biotransformation concerns come up.

GGT

Helpful if oxidative and detoxification load overlap.

Exposure and symptom log

Real-world pattern tracking often reveals more than one-off labs.

Where DNA analysis helps

DNA can show whether acetylation deserves more attention before you assume every issue is due to lifestyle or random sensitivity. It narrows follow-up questions.

Example Insight

Your acetylation pathway may have less reserve when compound load rises.

Suggested validation: GGT plus exposure-response tracking.

What to do next

  • Reduce broad detox assumptions and validate with context.
  • Compare NAT2 with UGT1A1 and G6PD when clearance and oxidative load overlap.
  • Track exposure timing and symptoms before making intervention changes.

Upload your DNA file and receive a structured metabolic pathway analysis with prioritized insights and suggested validation markers.

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Related pages

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Caffeine and stimulant sensitivity pathway

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How accurate are DNA metabolism reports?

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Best DNA test for metabolism

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Related symptom angle

Poor detoxification symptoms

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