Genetic variant

rs1799971 a variant in the OPRM1 gene

rs1799971 is a single-letter difference in the OPRM1 gene, on chromosome 6. ClinVar, the public archive of variant interpretations, lists it as drug response: linked to how the body handles certain medicines. It has been reported in connection with Opioid dependence, susceptibility to and 1, among others. Carrying it does not, on its own, mean you have or will develop any condition.

ClinVar: Drug response
Drug Response
Chromosome 6

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 rs1799971 is the catalogue number of one of them, in the OPRM1 gene. Which letters you carry there — one copy from each parent — is your genotype.

OPRM1 (opioid receptor mu 1): This gene encodes one of at least three opioid receptors in humans; the mu opioid receptor (MOR). The MOR is the principal target of endogenous opioid peptides and opioid analgesic agents such as beta-endorphin and enkephalins. The MOR also has an important role in dependence to other drugs of abuse, such as nicotine, cocaine, and alcohol via its modulation of the dopamine system.
Gene description from NCBI Gene

The rs1799971(G) allele in exon 1 of the mu opioid receptor OPRM1 gene causes the normal amino acid ...
From SNPedia

Why might it matter?

ClinVar records this variant as drug response, meaning linked to how the body handles certain medicines. 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

Opioid dependence, susceptibility to
1
Tramadol response

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 rs1799971, 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.

Upload blood results

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: rs1799971
Gene: OPRM1
Position (GRCh38): chr6:154039661
Variant type: snv
Consequence: missense variant
ClinVar classification: Uncertain significance; drug response