MARCHF8, variants, traits, and what the research shows

MARCHF8 - what this gene does

MARCHF8 (Membrane Associated Ring-CH-Type Finger 8, also catalogued as MARCH8) is a human gene whose catalogued variants are associated with metabolic conditions, certain cancers, and kidney-related traits, based on genome-wide association studies (GWAS - large studies that scan many people's DNA to find variants statistically linked to health traits).

Key takeaways

• At least nine variants in this gene are linked to metabolic traits in large population studies.
• Two variants show associations with cancer-related traits.
• One variant is associated with kidney-related traits.
• The top-ranked variant by magnitude score currently lacks a published trait label.
• All associations are population-level statistical signals, not individual-level predictors.

Notable variants

The strongest signal in this gene comes from rs12764652 (magnitude 4.50), the highest-ranked variant in the catalogue, though its trait annotation is not yet recorded. The second-ranked variant rs74371111 (magnitude 2.80) similarly lacks a catalogued trait label. Among the well-annotated entries, metabolic-trait associations are represented by variants including rs10900223, rs11239528, and rs11394256 (all magnitude 2.20). Cancer-linked variants include rs10900220 and rs11239542, while rs10466245 carries a kidney-related trait label.

Trait associations

The most represented trait theme is metabolic conditions, with at least nine distinct variants - including rs10900223, rs10900224, rs11239528, rs11239536, rs11239544, rs11239549, rs11239551, rs11239571, and rs11394256 - carrying that label. The recurrence of metabolic associations across multiple independent variants strengthens that signal relative to a single-variant finding. Cancer associations appear in at least two variants (rs10900220 and rs11239542), and a kidney-related trait association is catalogued for rs10466245.

Evidence quality

The available catalogue lists 106 total variants in this gene, of which 26 have prior research summaries. The metabolic signal is the most broadly represented, appearing across at least nine variants - though replication across independent study cohorts (rather than multiple variants within the same GWAS locus) would be needed to confirm this as a robust finding. Specific effect sizes such as odds ratios or beta coefficients are not available in the current data. Most associations should be treated as preliminary GWAS signals until independently replicated.

What this is NOT

These variants represent population-level statistical associations, not deterministic predictions about any individual's health outcomes. Nothing here constitutes medical advice, a diagnosis, or a recommendation to take any action.