GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:3754

FLNA

filamin A

protein-coding geneXq28Gene information

What does this gene do?

The FLNA gene provides instructions for producing the protein filamin A, which helps build cells' extensive internal network of protein filaments called the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton gives structure to cells and allows them the flexibility to change shape. The cytoskeleton is also important for certain processes inside the cells, such as the movement of proteins within the cell and the breakdown of unneeded proteins. Filamin A primarily attaches (binds) to another protein called actin and helps it form the branching network of filaments that make up the cytoskeleton.

Filamin A can also bind to many other proteins in the cell to carry out various functions, including the attachment of cells to one another (cell adhesion), cell movement (migration), determination of cell shape, the relay of signals within cells, and cell survival. These numerous functions involving filamin A have been found to play roles in regulating skeletal and brain development, the formation of heart tissue and blood vessels, blood clotting, skin elasticity, the maintenance of lung tissue, and the function of the digestive system.

Filamin A is also involved in the organization of the extracellular matrix, which is the lattice of proteins and other molecules outside the cell. Filamin A binds to proteins called integrins, which span the cell membrane and anchor cells to the extracellular matrix. Through this binding, cells are correctly positioned and signals can be exchanged between the cell and the extracellular matrix.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2023-04-11. Source review: 2022-06.

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
familial thoracic aortic aneurysm and aortic dissectionMONDO:0019625 · Evaluated 2016-12-22	X-linked	LimitedHeritable Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection Gene Curation Expert Panel
periventricular nodular heterotopiaMONDO:0020341 · Evaluated 2020-12-27	X-linked	DefinitiveIntellectual Disability and Autism 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: 4,872
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene: 9,220
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene: 8,799
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic: 395
VariationIDs with uncertain significance: 1,534
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications: 493

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 FLNA?

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 395 alleles in FLNA 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 FLNA.

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

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