GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:12703

BEST1

bestrophin 1

protein-coding gene11q12.3Gene information

What does this gene do?

The BEST1 gene provides instructions for making a protein called bestrophin-1, which appears to play a critical role in normal vision. Bestrophin-1 is found in a thin layer of cells at the back of the eye called the retinal pigment epithelium. This cell layer supports and nourishes the retina, which is the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. The retinal pigment epithelium is involved in the growth and development of the eye, maintenance of the retina, and the normal function of specialized cells called photoreceptors that detect light and color.

Bestrophin-1 functions as a channel across cell membranes in the retinal pigment epithelium. Charged chlorine atoms (chloride ions) are transported through these channels in response to cellular signals. Some studies suggest that bestrophin-1 may also help regulate the entry of charged calcium atoms (calcium ions) into cells of the retinal pigment epithelium. Other potential functions of bestrophin-1 are under study.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2023-03-13. Source review: 2014-11.

ClinGen reviews

ClinGen reviews the evidence linking a particular gene to a condition. Each rating below describes the strength of that link. It does not classify a variant in your DNA file.

Condition	Inheritance	Evidence
BEST1-related dominant retinopathyMONDO:0700238 · Evaluated 2023-08-03	Autosomal dominant	DefinitiveRetina Gene Curation Expert Panel

ClinVar records

These numbers show what has been submitted to ClinVar. They cannot tell you how likely you are to have a condition.

Submitted alleles: 1,141
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene: 2,359
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene: 2,184
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic: 364
VariationIDs with uncertain significance: 378
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications: 76

The rows count different things: alleles, submissions or VariationIDs. Their categories can overlap, so do not add them together. Pathogenic/likely pathogenic counts exclude structural variants that merely overlap a gene. A dash in the source means “not reported,” not zero.

NCBI produces the gene-summary file each week using counts recorded at the start of the month. The numbers may differ from those on the live ClinVar website. Read the field definitions ↗

View this gene in ClinVar ↗

YOUR DNA FILE

Can your DNA file tell you about BEST1?

From a DNA test kit (such as 23andMe, AncestryDNA or MyHeritage). These kits check a fixed list of about 600,000 to 700,000 positions across your whole genome. ClinVar lists 364 alleles in BEST1 reported as pathogenic or likely pathogenic. A kit checks only some of these positions, and often none of them.

From whole genome sequencing (a VCF file). Sequencing reads most of your genome. Your file lists the places where your DNA differs from the reference genome. Some regions are hard to sequence, including parts of some genes that have near-identical copies elsewhere, and a VCF file does not record which positions were read well.

If a variant is not in your file, that does not mean you don’t have it.

What BioDecode checks

BioDecode compares every variant in your file with ClinVar, on your own computer. For each match, it shows the ClinVar classification, the review status and the condition it was reported for. Your file is not uploaded.

A ClinVar classification applies to one particular variant and the condition it was reported for. It does not tell you about other variants in BEST1.

BioDecode cannot fill gaps in your test, diagnose a condition or replace clinical testing.

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