HLA-B, variants, traits, and what the research shows

HLA-B - what this gene does

HLA-B (Human Leukocyte Antigen B) is a gene whose on-file variants are associated with a broad range of traits including immune function, cancer, pharmacogenomics (how genetics may influence an individual's response to drugs), cardiovascular health, coagulation, and hormonal conditions.

Key takeaways

• Five independent variants in this gene share an immune-function annotation - the most consistently repeated trait theme in the data.
• The highest-magnitude variant on file is linked to cancer; a second, independent cancer-associated variant adds corroboration.
• One variant carries a pharmacogenomics flag, suggesting a potential connection between this gene and drug response.
• Additional variants point to cardiovascular health, coagulation, rare diseases, and mental health.
• All signals here are population-level statistical associations - none predicts any individual's health outcomes with certainty.

Notable variants

rs1369055141 carries the highest magnitude score in this dataset (5.50) and is associated with cancer. A second cancer-linked variant, rs2523608, independently reinforces that trait theme. On the immune side, five variants - rs117486637, rs149567432, rs17192932, rs2523554, and rs2596492 - all share an immune annotation, representing the densest trait cluster in the data. rs1811197 stands out for its pharmacogenomics annotation, rs201224323 is linked to cardiovascular traits, and rs3819299 appears in coagulation research.

Trait associations

Immune function is the strongest recurring theme: rs117486637, rs149567432, rs17192932, rs2523554, and rs2596492 all carry immune annotations independently. Cancer appears in two separate variants - rs1369055141 (magnitude 5.50) and rs2523608 - lending that association a degree of corroboration within this gene. Other traits with single-variant signals include hormonal (rs1071816), pharmacogenomics (rs1811197), cardiovascular (rs201224323), coagulation (rs3819299), rare disease (rs2523557), and mental health (rs2523590). A number of additional variants - including rs1140546, rs115881826, rs12526858, and rs147324178 - are on file but do not yet carry trait annotations in this dataset.

Evidence quality

The full gene record holds 245 variants, of which 53 carry prior research summaries. All magnitude scores among the top-ranked variants fall in the 4.50-5.50 range - consistent with well-evidenced GWAS (genome-wide association study - a method that scans large populations for genetic positions statistically associated with a trait) signals rather than extreme outliers. The immune trait theme is the best-corroborated finding here, supported by five independent variants; a trait appearing across multiple independent signals is generally more credible than a single-variant association. The cancer, cardiovascular, coagulation, and mental-health associations each rest on a single variant in this summary and should be treated as preliminary pending broader replication. Specific odds ratios, beta coefficients, and cohort sizes are not available for these variants in the current input.

What this is NOT

These variants represent population-level statistical associations from large-scale genomic studies, not deterministic predictions of any individual's health, disease risk, or drug response. Nothing on this page constitutes medical advice, a diagnosis, or a recommendation of any kind.