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Genetics Library / Genes / HADH

GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:4799

HADH

hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase

protein-coding gene4q25Gene information

What does this gene do?

The HADH gene provides instructions for making an enzyme called 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase that is important for converting certain fats to energy. This enzyme is involved in a process called fatty acid oxidation, in which several enzymes work in a step-wise fashion to break down (metabolize) fats and convert them to energy. The role of 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase is to metabolize groups of fats called medium-chain fatty acids and short-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids are found in foods such as milk and certain oils and are produced when larger fatty acids are metabolized.

3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase functions in mitochondria, the energy-producing centers within cells. This enzyme is especially important for the normal functioning of the heart, liver, kidneys, muscles, and pancreas. The pancreas makes enzymes that help digest food, and it also produces insulin, which controls how much sugar (glucose) is passed from the blood into cells for conversion to energy.

3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase is essential in the process that converts medium-chain and short-chain fatty acids to ketones, the major source of energy used by the heart and muscles. During prolonged periods without food (fasting) or when energy demands are increased, ketones are also important for the liver and other tissues.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2023-07-25. Source review: 2010-04.

Related condition topics

MedlinePlus mentions this gene in the condition pages below. These links alone do not show that the gene causes a condition.

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.

ConditionInheritanceEvidence
obsolete hyperinsulinism due to short chain 3-hydroxylacyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiencyMONDO:0009278 · Evaluated 2018-06-26Autosomal recessiveDefinitiveFatty Acid Oxidation Disorders 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
417
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene
716
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene
692
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic
35
VariationIDs with uncertain significance
107
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications
51

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 HADH?

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 35 alleles in HADH 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 HADH.

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

Sources and dates

The source information on this page last changed on 2026-10-10.

HGNC Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Fri, 09 Oct 2026 13:40:45 GMT
Source record updated: 2023-01-20

SHA-256: e4cd9c6d7120051b80e5e61d2aeb98bd6a541ddd21f428a6eab922c11242e053

MedlinePlus Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Sat, 10 Oct 2026 05:16:07 GMT
Source publication: 2023-07-25
Source review: 2010-04

SHA-256: fdc8bd614310c12718379cef6569962e5d0e791cecabcc355b53a72816ac263a

ClinVar Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Sun, 04 Oct 2026 13:15:29 GMT

SHA-256: 126d9e5bded1d43c0380ac6684c86f9aab056d2ff2be93d743e408ed917ae558

ClinGen Source details

Open source record ↗

Source release: Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:49:14 GMT

SHA-256: 5bbc9404c72cc21d80e36ea4c49380231755850af5c34064262adceb74881af6

About the library sources · Latest validated release · Record 981834cae27f