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We investigated the MspI restriction site of the human collagen type I A2 (COL1A2) gene in alcoholic subjects with and without liver disease, using the nested polymerase chain reaction to analyse trace cellular DNA in plasma samples. This procedure is rapid, it requires only 200 μl plasma, and the results correlate perfectly with those of Southern blotting. Alcoholic subjects with acute alcoholic hepatitis had a significantly lower frequency of the minor allele than healthy controls or alcoholics with minimal liver abnormalities, i.e. steatosis. Our results reinforce the hypothesis of a genetic predisposition of certain alcoholics to liver damage.