GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:2600

CYP21A2

cytochrome P450 family 21 subfamily A member 2

protein-coding gene6p21.33Gene information

What does this gene do?

The CYP21A2 gene provides instructions for making an enzyme called 21-hydroxylase, which is part of the cytochrome P450 family of enzymes. Cytochrome P450 enzymes are involved in many processes in the body, such as assisting with reactions that break down drugs and helping to produce cholesterol, certain hormones, and fats (lipids).

The 21-hydroxylase enzyme is found in the adrenal glands, which are located on top of the kidneys and produce a variety of hormones that regulate many essential functions in the body. 21-hydroxylase plays a role in producing hormones called cortisol and aldosterone. Cortisol helps maintain blood sugar (glucose) levels, protects the body from stress, and suppresses inflammation. Aldosterone is sometimes called the salt-retaining hormone because it regulates the amount of salt retained by the kidneys. The retention of salt affects fluid levels in the body and blood pressure.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2023-07-26. Source review: 2010-01.

ClinGen reviews

We found no matching ClinGen review in the data used here. This does not rule out a link between the gene and a condition.

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: 474
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene: 1,114
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene: 1,034
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic: 165
VariationIDs with uncertain significance: 160
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications: 31

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 CYP21A2?

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 165 alleles in CYP21A2 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 CYP21A2.

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

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