ULK4, variants, traits, and what the research shows

ULK4 - what this gene does

ULK4 is a human gene whose variants, based on the research data available, are associated with liver, cardiovascular, and metabolic trait categories.

Key takeaways

• Multiple top-magnitude variants in this gene are linked to cardiovascular and liver traits
• Three of the highest-ranked variants are associated with cardiovascular health, while two are tied to liver biology
• One high-magnitude variant is linked to a metabolic trait
• Over 200 variants are on file for this gene, with 16 carrying published research summaries
• These associations are population-level statistical signals, not individual predictions

Notable variants

The nine highest-magnitude variants (all at magnitude 4.50) cluster across cardiovascular, liver, and metabolic trait categories. Three of these, rs35475272, rs370408735, and rs547906222, are linked to cardiovascular traits. Two variants, rs117149828 and rs75133830, are associated with liver traits; having two independent variants in the same gene tied to the same broad category is a tentatively stronger indicator than a single hit alone. The variant rs3897976 carries a metabolic trait association. Three additional magnitude-4.50 variants, rs13071018, rs1353394, and rs1691951, are on file without specific trait annotations.

Trait associations

This gene appears in research across three broad categories. Cardiovascular traits are the most represented at the top-magnitude tier, with rs35475272, rs370408735, and rs547906222 all carrying cardiovascular associations; the presence of three variants pointing to the same broad category is a stronger cumulative signal than any single variant alone would be. Liver traits appear via rs117149828 and rs75133830, representing a second distinct area of research interest. A metabolic trait association is linked to rs3897976.

Evidence quality

The strongest variants reach magnitude 4.50, with a second tier at magnitude 3.00. Across 206 recorded variants, only 16 carry prior research summaries, indicating that most are early-stage findings without extensive published context. Trait labels in the available data are broad category markers (liver, cardiovascular, metabolic) rather than specific diagnoses, and effect sizes, odds ratios, or sample sizes are not provided in the current dataset. The co-occurrence of multiple variants in the cardiovascular and liver categories offers tentative within-gene signal clustering, but independent cohort replication across studies is not confirmed from the data available here.

What this is NOT

These variants are population-level statistical signals from genome-wide association studies (GWAS - studies that scan many people's genomes for variants statistically linked to traits), not deterministic predictors for any individual. We do not prescribe, diagnose, or advise based on any content on this page.