List of human genes
This list describes some of the most notable genes present in the human genome.
Note: this does not attempt to be an exhausive list of genes, of which there are tens of thousands for humans alone: this is intended to be a list of genes which are particularly notable in scientific research or in their role in relation to disease, or have featured in a recent significant research paper or news story.
Genes notable for their function
Genes notable for their function
| HUGO Symbol | Locus | Gene product | Associated disease | Notes | Genecard |
| ALB | 4q11-q13 | Serum albumin | — | The most abundant protein in human blood plasma | Template:Genecard |
| BCL2 | 18q21.3 | Apoptosis regulator Bcl-2 / B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2 | Several cancers | The prototype anti-apoptotic protein | Template:Genecard |
| CCR5 | 3p21 | chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 5 | — | Has an important role in resistance to infection. | Template:Genecard |
| CD4 | 12pter-p12 | CD4 antigen | — | The prototype marker for T helper cells | Template:Genecard |
| CD8 | 2p12 | CD8 antigen | — | The prototype marker for cytotoxic T cells | Template:Genecard |
| IL2 | 4q26-q27 | Interleukin 2 | Various cancers | Strong pro-inflammatory cytokine | Template:Genecard |
| IL10 | 1q31-q32 | Interleukin 10 | — | anti-inflammatory cytokine | Template:Genecard |
Genes that have attracted media attention
Genes that have attracted media attention
| HUGO Symbol | Locus | Gene product | Associated disease | Notes | Genecard |
| BRCA1 | 17q21 | Breast cancer 1, early onset | Breast cancer | Myriad Genetics owns a controversial patent on this gene [1] | Template:Genecard |
| BRCA2 | 13q12-13 | Breast cancer 2, early onset | Breast cancer | Myriad Genetics owns a controversial patent on this gene [2] | Template:Genecard |
| CD28 | 2q33 | CD28 antigen | — | The target of the drug TGN1412, which had a dramatic outcome of its first clinical trial in 2006. | Template:Genecard |
| ZBTB7A | 19p13.3 | Zbtb7 / POK erythroid myeloid ontogenic factor | Cancer | Originally called POKemon, the gene was renamed after legal threats from Pokémon USA [3]. | Template:Genecard |
Genes causing hereditary diseases
Genes causing hereditary diseases
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [2]
Overview
A genetic disorder is a condition caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes. While some diseases, such as cancer, are due to genetic abnormalities acquired in a few cells during life, the term “genetic disease” most commonly refers to diseases present in all cells of the body and present since conception. Some genetic disorders are caused by chromosomal abnormalities due to errors in meiosis, the process which produces reproductive cells such as sperm and eggs. Examples include Down syndrome (extra chromosome 21), Turner Syndrome (45X0) and Klinefelter’s syndrome (a male with 2 X chromosomes). Other genetic changes may occur during the production of germ cells by the parent. One example is the triplet expansion repeat mutations which can cause fragile X syndrome or Huntington’s disease. Defective genes may also be inherited intact from the parents. In this case, the genetic disorder is known as a hereditary disease. This can often happen unexpectedly when two healthy carriers of a defective recessive gene reproduce, but can also happen when the defective gene is dominant.
Currently about 4,000 genetic disorders are known, with more being discovered. Most disorders are quite rare and affect one person in every several thousands or millions. Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common genetic disorders; around 5% of the population of the United States carry at least one copy of the defective gene. Some types of recessive gene disorder confer an advantage in the heterozygous state in certain environments. [1]
Genetic diseases are typically diagnosed and treated by geneticists. Genetic counselors assist the physicians and directly counsel patients. The study of genetic diseases is a scientific discipline whose theoretical underpinning is based on population genetics.
Single gene disorders
Where genetic disorders are the result of a single mutated gene they can be passed on to subsequent generations in the ways outlined in the table below. Genomic imprinting and uniparental disomy, however, may affect inheritance patterns. The divisions between recessive and dominant are not “hard and fast” although the divisions between autosomal and X-linked are (related to the position of the gene). For example, achondroplasia is typically considered a dominant disorder, but children with two genes for achondroplasia have a severe skeletal disorder that achondroplasics could be viewed as carriers of. Sickle-cell anemia is also considered a recessive condition, but carriers that have it by half along with the normal gene have increased immunity to malaria in early childhood, which could be described as a related dominant condition.
| Inheritance pattern | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Autosomal dominant | Only one mutated copy of the gene will be necessary for a person to be affected by an autosomal dominant disorder. Each affected person usually has one affected parent. There is a 50% chance that a child will inherit the mutated gene. Conditions that are autosomal dominant have low penetrance, which means that, although only one mutated copy is needed, a relatively small proportion of those who inherit that mutation go on to develop the disease, often later in life. | Huntington’s disease, Neurofibromatosis 1, Marfan Syndrome, Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer
Hereditary multiple exostosesis high penetrance autosomal dominant disorder |
| Autosomal recessive | Two copies of the gene must be mutated for a person to be affected by an autosomal recessive disorder. An affected person usually has unaffected parents who each carry a single copy of the mutated gene (and are referred to as carriers). Two unaffected people who each carry one copy of the mutated gene have a 25% chance with each pregnancy of having a child affected by the disorder. | Cystic fibrosis, Sickle cell anemia(Also Partial Sickle Cell Anemia), Tay-Sachs disease, Spinal muscular atrophy, Dry (otherwise known as “rice-brand”) earwax[2] |
| X-linked dominant trait | X-linked dominant disorders are caused by mutations in genes on the X chromosome. Only a few disorders have this inheritance pattern. Males are more frequently affected than females, and the chance of passing on an X-linked dominant disorder differs between men and women. The sons of a man with an X-linked dominant disorder will not be affected, and his daughters will all inherit the condition. A woman with an X-linked dominant disorder has a 50% chance of having an affected daughter or son with each pregnancy. Some X-linked dominant conditions, such as Aicardi Syndrome, are fatal to boys, therefore only girls have them (and boys with Klinefelter Syndrome). | Hypophosphatemia, Aicardi Syndrome, Chokenflok Syndrome |
| X-linked recessive | X-linked recessive disorders are also caused by mutations in genes on the X chromosome. Males are more frequently affected than females, and the chance of passing on the disorder differs between men and women. The sons of a man with an X-linked recessive disorder will not be affected, and his daughters will carry one copy of the mutated gene. With each pregnancy, a woman who carries an X-linked recessive disorder has a 50% chance of having sons who are affected and a 50% chance of having daughters who carry one copy of the mutated gene. | Hemophilia A, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Color blindness, Muscular dystrophy Androgenetic alopecia |
| Y-linked | Y-linked disorders are caused by mutations on the Y chromosome. Only males can get them, and all of the sons of an affected father are affected. Since the Y chromosome is very small, Y-linked disorders only cause infertility, and may be circumvented with the help of some fertility treatments. | Male Infertility |
| Mitochondrial | This type of inheritance, also known as maternal inheritance, applies to genes in mitochondrial DNA. Because only egg cells contribute mitochondria to the developing embryo, only females can pass on mitochondrial conditions to their children. | Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) |
Multifactorial and polygenic disorders
Genetic disorders may also be complex, multifactorial or polygenic, this means that they are likely associated with the effects of multiple genes in combination with lifestyle and environmental factors. Multifactoral disorders include heart disease and diabetes. Although complex disorders often cluster in families, they do not have a clear-cut pattern of inheritance. This makes it difficult to determine a person’s risk of inheriting or passing on these disorders. Complex disorders are also difficult to study and treat because the specific factors that cause most of these disorders have not yet been identified.
On a pedigree, polygenic diseases do tend to “run in families”, but the inheritance does not fit simple patterns as with Mendelian diseases. But this does not mean that the genes cannot eventually be located and studied. There is also a strong environmental component to many of them (e.g., blood pressure).
References
See also
External links
- CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
- Genetic Disease Information from the Human Genome Project
- Genes and Disease from the Wellcome Trust
- OMIM – Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, a catalog of human genes and genetic disorders
ar:مرض وراثي cs:Genetická choroba de:Erbkrankheit fi:perinnöllinen sairaus ko:유전병 id:Penyakit genetik he:פגם גנטי lt:Genetinė liga hu:Genetikai betegség nl:Erfelijke aandoening simple:Hereditary disease su:Cacad genetik sv:Genetisk sjukdom sr:наследне болести
Genes contributing to multifactorial diseases
Genes contributing to multifactorial diseases
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [2]
Overview
A genetic disorder is a condition caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes. While some diseases, such as cancer, are due to genetic abnormalities acquired in a few cells during life, the term “genetic disease” most commonly refers to diseases present in all cells of the body and present since conception. Some genetic disorders are caused by chromosomal abnormalities due to errors in meiosis, the process which produces reproductive cells such as sperm and eggs. Examples include Down syndrome (extra chromosome 21), Turner Syndrome (45X0) and Klinefelter’s syndrome (a male with 2 X chromosomes). Other genetic changes may occur during the production of germ cells by the parent. One example is the triplet expansion repeat mutations which can cause fragile X syndrome or Huntington’s disease. Defective genes may also be inherited intact from the parents. In this case, the genetic disorder is known as a hereditary disease. This can often happen unexpectedly when two healthy carriers of a defective recessive gene reproduce, but can also happen when the defective gene is dominant.
Currently about 4,000 genetic disorders are known, with more being discovered. Most disorders are quite rare and affect one person in every several thousands or millions. Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common genetic disorders; around 5% of the population of the United States carry at least one copy of the defective gene. Some types of recessive gene disorder confer an advantage in the heterozygous state in certain environments. [1]
Genetic diseases are typically diagnosed and treated by geneticists. Genetic counselors assist the physicians and directly counsel patients. The study of genetic diseases is a scientific discipline whose theoretical underpinning is based on population genetics.
Single gene disorders
Where genetic disorders are the result of a single mutated gene they can be passed on to subsequent generations in the ways outlined in the table below. Genomic imprinting and uniparental disomy, however, may affect inheritance patterns. The divisions between recessive and dominant are not “hard and fast” although the divisions between autosomal and X-linked are (related to the position of the gene). For example, achondroplasia is typically considered a dominant disorder, but children with two genes for achondroplasia have a severe skeletal disorder that achondroplasics could be viewed as carriers of. Sickle-cell anemia is also considered a recessive condition, but carriers that have it by half along with the normal gene have increased immunity to malaria in early childhood, which could be described as a related dominant condition.
| Inheritance pattern | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Autosomal dominant | Only one mutated copy of the gene will be necessary for a person to be affected by an autosomal dominant disorder. Each affected person usually has one affected parent. There is a 50% chance that a child will inherit the mutated gene. Conditions that are autosomal dominant have low penetrance, which means that, although only one mutated copy is needed, a relatively small proportion of those who inherit that mutation go on to develop the disease, often later in life. | Huntington’s disease, Neurofibromatosis 1, Marfan Syndrome, Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer
Hereditary multiple exostosesis high penetrance autosomal dominant disorder |
| Autosomal recessive | Two copies of the gene must be mutated for a person to be affected by an autosomal recessive disorder. An affected person usually has unaffected parents who each carry a single copy of the mutated gene (and are referred to as carriers). Two unaffected people who each carry one copy of the mutated gene have a 25% chance with each pregnancy of having a child affected by the disorder. | Cystic fibrosis, Sickle cell anemia(Also Partial Sickle Cell Anemia), Tay-Sachs disease, Spinal muscular atrophy, Dry (otherwise known as “rice-brand”) earwax[2] |
| X-linked dominant trait | X-linked dominant disorders are caused by mutations in genes on the X chromosome. Only a few disorders have this inheritance pattern. Males are more frequently affected than females, and the chance of passing on an X-linked dominant disorder differs between men and women. The sons of a man with an X-linked dominant disorder will not be affected, and his daughters will all inherit the condition. A woman with an X-linked dominant disorder has a 50% chance of having an affected daughter or son with each pregnancy. Some X-linked dominant conditions, such as Aicardi Syndrome, are fatal to boys, therefore only girls have them (and boys with Klinefelter Syndrome). | Hypophosphatemia, Aicardi Syndrome, Chokenflok Syndrome |
| X-linked recessive | X-linked recessive disorders are also caused by mutations in genes on the X chromosome. Males are more frequently affected than females, and the chance of passing on the disorder differs between men and women. The sons of a man with an X-linked recessive disorder will not be affected, and his daughters will carry one copy of the mutated gene. With each pregnancy, a woman who carries an X-linked recessive disorder has a 50% chance of having sons who are affected and a 50% chance of having daughters who carry one copy of the mutated gene. | Hemophilia A, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Color blindness, Muscular dystrophy Androgenetic alopecia |
| Y-linked | Y-linked disorders are caused by mutations on the Y chromosome. Only males can get them, and all of the sons of an affected father are affected. Since the Y chromosome is very small, Y-linked disorders only cause infertility, and may be circumvented with the help of some fertility treatments. | Male Infertility |
| Mitochondrial | This type of inheritance, also known as maternal inheritance, applies to genes in mitochondrial DNA. Because only egg cells contribute mitochondria to the developing embryo, only females can pass on mitochondrial conditions to their children. | Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) |
Multifactorial and polygenic disorders
Genetic disorders may also be complex, multifactorial or polygenic, this means that they are likely associated with the effects of multiple genes in combination with lifestyle and environmental factors. Multifactoral disorders include heart disease and diabetes. Although complex disorders often cluster in families, they do not have a clear-cut pattern of inheritance. This makes it difficult to determine a person’s risk of inheriting or passing on these disorders. Complex disorders are also difficult to study and treat because the specific factors that cause most of these disorders have not yet been identified.
On a pedigree, polygenic diseases do tend to “run in families”, but the inheritance does not fit simple patterns as with Mendelian diseases. But this does not mean that the genes cannot eventually be located and studied. There is also a strong environmental component to many of them (e.g., blood pressure).
References
See also
External links
- CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
- Genetic Disease Information from the Human Genome Project
- Genes and Disease from the Wellcome Trust
- OMIM – Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, a catalog of human genes and genetic disorders
ar:مرض وراثي cs:Genetická choroba de:Erbkrankheit fi:perinnöllinen sairaus ko:유전병 id:Penyakit genetik he:פגם גנטי lt:Genetinė liga hu:Genetikai betegség nl:Erfelijke aandoening simple:Hereditary disease su:Cacad genetik sv:Genetisk sjukdom sr:наследне болести
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