Genetic variant

rs11888704 a variant in the HPCAL1 gene

rs11888704 is a single-letter difference in the HPCAL1 gene, on chromosome 2. ClinVar, the public archive of variant interpretations, lists it as association: seen more often in people with a condition, which is not the same as causing it. It has been reported in connection with Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor response. 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 rs11888704 is the catalogue number of one of them, in the HPCAL1 gene. Which letters you carry there — one copy from each parent — is your genotype.

HPCAL1 (hippocalcin like 1): The protein encoded by this gene is a member of neuron-specific calcium-binding proteins family found in the retina and brain. It is highly similar to human hippocalcin protein and nearly identical to the rat and mouse hippocalcin like-1 proteins. It may be involved in the calcium-dependent regulation of rhodopsin phosphorylation and may be of relevance for neuronal signalling in the central nervous system.

Gene description from NCBI Gene

Why might it matter?

ClinVar records this variant as association, meaning seen more often in people with a condition, which is not the same as causing it. 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.

Conditions it has been reported with

Listed in ClinVar submissions for this variant. Being listed is a report of an association, not a statement that the variant causes the condition in any given person.

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 rs11888704, 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
rs11888704
Gene
HPCAL1
Position (GRCh38)
chr2:10390198
Variant type
snv
Consequence
intron variant
ClinVar classification
association

How common the less frequent letter is

1kG AFR
35.9%
1kG ALL
21.4%
1kG AMR
25.1%
1kG EAS
31.2%
1kG EUR
6.7%
1kG SAS
95.5%

Sources