GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:5991
IL1A
interleukin 1 alpha
What does this gene do?
The IL1A gene provides instructions for making a protein called interleukin-1 alpha. Interleukins are a group of proteins that are made primarily in immune system cells. They are involved in cell-to-cell communication and have a wide variety of functions within the immune system. Interleukin-1 alpha is described as "pro-inflammatory" because it stimulates the activity of genes involved in inflammation and immunity. This protein plays a critical role in protecting the body from foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses. It is also involved in bone resorption, the breakdown and removal of bone tissue that is no longer needed.
Interleukin-1 alpha is initially produced as a relatively long protein that is trapped within cells. Another protein, called calpain, cuts (cleaves) this precursor protein to create a shorter, mature version of interleukin-1 alpha. The shorter form of this protein is secreted by immune system cells to influence the functions of other cells.
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
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
- 62
- Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene
- 69
- Submissions explicitly reporting this gene
- 54
- Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic
- Not reported
- VariationIDs with uncertain significance
- 35
- VariationIDs with conflicting classifications
- 0
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 ↗
YOUR DNA FILE
Can your DNA file tell you about IL1A?
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.
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 IL1A.
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 2026-09-18.
HGNC Source details
Source release: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 13:48:06 GMT
Source record updated: 2023-01-20
SHA-256: 54b5b60ab82d1640a66e98fb4eec2f30ba5807c2d5c684150f17f72554cd39aa
MedlinePlus Source details
Source release: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 05:17:13 GMT
Source publication: 2022-03-23
Source review: 2022-03
SHA-256: fdc8bd614310c12718379cef6569962e5d0e791cecabcc355b53a72816ac263a
ClinVar Source details
Source release: Sun, 13 Sep 2026 14:50:41 GMT
SHA-256: 241bdb77762102837f3ac88682c84b29f99ef59195f1ac3fa453287555736e9a
About the library sources · Latest validated release · Record 6ea9409f0c85