GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:2942

DNAH11

dynein axonemal heavy chain 11

protein-coding gene7p15.3Gene information

What does this gene do?

The DNAH11 gene provides instructions for making a protein that is part of a larger group (a complex) of proteins called dynein. This complex functions within cell structures called cilia. Cilia are microscopic, finger-like projections that stick out (project) from the surface of cells. They are found in cells that line the airway, the reproductive system, and many other organs and tissues. Coordinated back and forth movement of cilia can move the cell or the fluid surrounding the cell. Dynein makes up the structures (arms) that produce the force needed for cilia to move.

Dynein forms structures known as inner dynein arms (IDAs) and outer dynein arms (ODAs) within the core of many cilia (the axoneme). Coordinated movement of the dynein arms causes the entire axoneme to bend back and forth. Within IDAs and ODAs, dynein is made up of different combinations of protein components (subunits) that are classified by weight as heavy, intermediate, or light chains. The DNAH11 gene provides instructions for making the heavy chain 11 protein, which is found in ODAs. Other subunits are produced from different genes.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2025-09-23. Source review: 2025-09.

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
primary ciliary dyskinesia 7MONDO:0012748 · Evaluated 2021-10-25	Autosomal recessive	DefinitiveMotile Ciliopathy 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: 6,799
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene: 10,198
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene: 10,041
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic: 629
VariationIDs with uncertain significance: 1,230
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications: 798

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 DNAH11?

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 629 alleles in DNAH11 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 DNAH11.

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

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