Genetic variant
rs139503903 a variant in the AWAT1 gene
rs139503903 is a single-letter difference in the AWAT1 gene, on chromosome X. ClinVar, the public archive of variant interpretations, lists it as conflicting interpretations: laboratories that have assessed it do not agree on whether it matters. 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 rs139503903 is the catalogue number of one of them, in the AWAT1 gene. Which letters you carry there — one copy from each parent — is your genotype.
AWAT1 (acyl-CoA wax alcohol acyltransferase 1): The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the diacylglycerol acyltransferase family. It esterifies long chain (wax) alcohols with acyl-CoA-derived fatty acids to produce wax esters. Wax esters are enriched in sebum, suggesting that this enzyme plays a central role in lipid metabolism in skin. Consistent with this observation, this protein is predominantly expressed in the sebaceous gland of the skin.
Gene description from NCBI Gene
Why might it matter?
ClinVar records this variant as conflicting interpretations, meaning laboratories that have assessed it do not agree on whether it matters. 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 rs139503903, 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?
- Find out whether you carry it. Reading about a variant says nothing about you until you know your genotype.
- Put it in context. Add your blood results, so the variant can be read against what your body is doing.
- Ask questions. Dr. Hemsworth, our AI assistant, can explain this variant and your results in plain English.
- 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
- rs139503903
- Gene
- AWAT1
- Position
- chrX:70239898
- ClinVar classification
- Conflicting classifications of pathogenicity
Sources
- dbSNP: rs139503903 — the reference record
- ClinVar — clinical interpretations submitted by laboratories
- SNPedia — community-written summaries
- NCBI Gene: AWAT1
- Ensembl: AWAT1