GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:2214

COL7A1

collagen type VII alpha 1 chain

protein-coding gene3p21.31Gene information

What does this gene do?

The COL7A1 gene provides instructions for making a protein called pro-α1(VII) chain that is used to assemble a larger protein called type VII collagen. Collagens are a family of proteins that strengthen and support connective tissues, such as skin, bone, tendons, and ligaments, throughout the body. In particular, type VII collagen plays an essential role in strengthening and stabilizing the skin.

Three pro-α1(VII) chains twist together to form a triple-stranded, ropelike molecule known as a procollagen. Cells release (secrete) procollagen molecules, and enzymes cut extra protein segments from the ends. Then the molecules arrange themselves into long, thin bundles of mature type VII collagen.

Type VII collagen is the major component of structures in the skin called anchoring fibrils. These fibrils are found in a region known as the epidermal basement membrane zone, which is a two-layer membrane located between the top layer of skin, called the epidermis, and an underlying layer called the dermis. Anchoring fibrils hold the two layers of skin together by connecting the epidermal basement membrane to the dermis.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2020-08-18. Source review: 2020-02.

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
recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosaMONDO:0009179 · Evaluated 2022-06-20	Autosomal recessive	DefinitiveHereditary Cancer 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: 6,385
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene: 9,330
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene: 9,275
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic: 1,208
VariationIDs with uncertain significance: 1,648
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications: 387

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 COL7A1?

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 1,208 alleles in COL7A1 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 COL7A1.

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

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