Genetic variant

rs2081638052 a variant in the LTBP4 gene

rs2081638052 is a single-letter difference in the LTBP4 gene, on chromosome 19. ClinVar, the public archive of variant interpretations, lists it as pathogenic: able to cause or contribute to disease. Carrying it does not, on its own, mean you have or will develop any condition.

What is this?

Your DNA is a long sequence of four letters. At a few million positions, people commonly differ by a single letter; each of those positions is called a SNP (“snip”), and rs2081638052 is the catalogue number of one of them, in the LTBP4 gene. Which letters you carry there — one copy from each parent — is your genotype.

LTBP4 (latent transforming growth factor beta binding protein 4): The protein encoded by this gene binds transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) as it is secreted and targeted to the extracellular matrix. TGFB is biologically latent after secretion and insertion into the extracellular matrix, and sheds TGFB and other proteins upon activation. Defects in this gene may be a cause of cutis laxa and severe pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and urinary abnormalities.

Gene description from NCBI Gene

Why might it matter?

ClinVar records this variant as pathogenic, meaning able to cause or contribute to disease. A classification describes the variant, not you: what it means for one person depends on their genotype, their family history and often on other genes and circumstances.

Do I have this variant?

If you have taken a consumer DNA test (23andMe, AncestryDNA and similar), you can download its raw data file and check. Create a free account, upload the file, and this page will show the letters you carry at rs2081638052, if your test read this position.

Connect this with your blood results

A gene is a fixed instruction; a blood test shows what your body is doing now. CheckMyBloods reads the two side by side, so a variant can be set against the markers it could plausibly affect.

Blood markers do not diagnose a genetic condition, and a variant does not explain a blood result on its own. Together, with symptoms and family history, they give a clinician context.

What should I do next?

  1. Find out whether you carry it. Reading about a variant says nothing about you until you know your genotype.
  2. Put it in context. Add your blood results, so the variant can be read against what your body is doing.
  3. Ask questions. Dr. Hemsworth, our AI assistant, can explain this variant and your results in plain English.
  4. Take anything that worries you to a professional. A GP or genetic counsellor can order a confirmatory test and interpret it with your history.

This page is general information drawn from public research databases. It cannot diagnose anything, and it is not a substitute for advice from a doctor or genetic counsellor who knows your history.

Technical details

dbSNP ID
rs2081638052
Gene
LTBP4
Position
chr19:40626983
ClinVar classification
Pathogenic

Sources