GENE REFERENCE / HGNC:2468

SMC3

structural maintenance of chromosomes 3

protein-coding gene10q25.2Gene information

What does this gene do?

The SMC3 gene provides instructions for making a protein that is part of the structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) family. Within the nucleus, SMC proteins help regulate the structure and organization of chromosomes.

The protein produced from the SMC3 gene helps control chromosomes during cell division. Before cells divide, they must copy all of their chromosomes. The copied DNA from each chromosome is arranged into two identical structures, called sister chromatids, which are attached to one another during the early stages of cell division. The SMC3 protein is part of a protein group called the cohesin complex that holds the sister chromatids together.

Researchers believe that the SMC3 protein, as a structural component of the cohesin complex, also plays important roles in stabilizing cells' genetic information, repairing damaged DNA, and regulating the activity of certain genes that are essential for normal development.

Although the SMC3 protein is found primarily in the nucleus, some of this protein is transported out of cells. The exported protein, which is usually called bamacan, may be involved in sticking cells together (cell adhesion) and cell growth. Bamacan is a component of basement membranes, which are thin, sheet-like structures that separate and support cells in many tissues. Little else is known about the function of this protein outside the cell, but it appears to be important for normal development.

Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Source publication: 2022-04-13. Source review: 2022-04.

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
Cornelia de Lange syndromeMONDO:0016033 · Evaluated 2020-04-07	Autosomal dominant	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: 865
Submissions for variants in or overlapping this gene: 1,225
Submissions explicitly reporting this gene: 1,159
Alleles reported pathogenic / likely pathogenic: 87
VariationIDs with uncertain significance: 303
VariationIDs with conflicting classifications: 41

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 SMC3?

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 87 alleles in SMC3 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 SMC3.

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

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