GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:2202

COL4A1

collagen type IV alpha 1 chain

protein-coding gene13q34Gene information

What does this gene do?

The COL4A1 gene provides instructions for making one component of type IV collagen, which is a flexible protein important in the structure of many tissues throughout the body. Specifically, this gene makes the alpha1(IV) chain of type IV collagen. This chain combines with another alpha1 chain and a different type of alpha (IV) chain called alpha2 to make a complete type IV collagen alpha1-1-2 molecule. Type IV collagen molecules attach to each other to form complex protein networks. These protein networks are the main component of basement membranes, which are thin sheet-like structures that separate and support cells in many tissues. Type IV collagen alpha1-1-2 networks play an important role in the basement membranes in virtually all tissues throughout the body, particularly the basement membranes surrounding the body's blood vessels (vasculature). The type IV collagen network helps the basement membranes interact with nearby cells, playing a role in cell movement (migration), cell growth and division (proliferation), cell maturation (differentiation), and the survival of cells.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2025-09-26. Source review: 2011-09.

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
COL4A1-related disorderMONDO:0800461 · Evaluated 2024-02-12	Autosomal dominant	DefinitiveGlomerulopathy 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: 3,159
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene: 5,583
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene: 5,366
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic: 430
VariationIDs with uncertain significance: 1,145
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications: 162

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 COL4A1?

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 430 alleles in COL4A1 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 COL4A1.

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

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