The ADAM28 gene helps make a protein that sits on the cell surface or is released outside the cell, where it supports cell signaling, immune activity, and how cells interact with surrounding tissue. If this gene does not work normally, those signals and interactions may change, which can affect inflammation and tissue behavior. Some variants in the ADAM28 gene have been studied in cancer and immune system research, but they are not a common cause of a clearly defined inherited condition.
What is a gene?
Genes are sections of DNA that hold instructions your cells can use to make molecules or guide processes in the body. Some genes carry the directions for making proteins, which are the parts of cells that do much of the work. Other genes mainly regulate when certain processes happen, where they happen, and how strongly they operate. Together, genes affect how the body develops and functions, and they can influence how you respond to food, stress, or medications. To go into this topic in more detail, you can find more in the LearnHub.
Overview
ADAM28Gene function
What if the gene works
The ADAM28 gene helps make a protein found mainly on some immune cells. This protein supports cell to cell contact and controlled protein cutting, which can help cells move and communicate.
Risk
What if the gene does not work
Changes in the ADAM28 gene can partly or more strongly reduce ADAM28 protein cutting activity, depending on the variant. This may disrupt how certain cells interact, shed surface proteins, and pass signals to nearby cells.
Treatment
What does that mean for your treatment
No ADAM28-specific treatment or management approach is currently established for people with a pathogenic or loss-of-function variant in the ADAM28 gene. ADAM28 is being studied mainly as a possible biomarker and drug target in some cancers, but this has not changed routine treatment decisions.
Gene function
What if the gene works
Cells use the ADAM28 gene to manage some of the protein activity around their surface. Understanding what the ADAM28 gene does helps explain how cells communicate, attach, and adjust the material around them. It mainly works by making a protein that can both bind to nearby structures and cut selected proteins in a controlled way.
The ADAM28 gene makes a protein that cuts selected proteins at the cell surface or just outside the cell. This controlled trimming can release or reshape signals so nearby cells respond at the right time.
Part of the ADAM28 protein helps cells latch onto nearby cells and the support material around them. This contact helps cells sense their surroundings and keep interactions organized.
By combining protein trimming with cell contact, the ADAM28 gene helps fine tune communication between cells. This supports routine processes such as cell movement, contact, and local responses to changing conditions.
What is a variant?
A genetic variant is a small difference in the DNA sequence of a gene. These changes are common and are part of normal human diversity, including differences in appearance, metabolism, and how the body responds to environmental influences. Many variants do not have any noticeable effect and simply represent natural genetic variation. In some situations, though, a variant can change how a gene functions more substantially and may contribute to or directly cause a genetic condition.
Genetic variants
What if the gene does not work
ADAM28 gene variants can change the protein’s shape, stability, or how well it reaches the cell surface, which alters how ADAM28 gene variants affect protein function. Some variants are mild and only partly reduce activity or binding to partner proteins. More severe variants can create a shortened protein, sharply lower the amount made, or stop normal processing inside the cell. This creates a spectrum of reduced function rather than one fixed effect.
How variants are linked to conditions
Current research on the ADAM28 gene and health conditions has not yet shown a broadly confirmed link to one specific condition. If you have a confirmed ADAM28-related diagnosis, your doctor or genetic counselor can best explain what that result means for you.
A variant is not necessarily a diagnosis
Across the general population, genetic variants are common and are a normal feature of human biology. Most do not directly affect health and simply reflect natural differences among people. For many genes, carrying a variant linked to a condition indicates a possible association rather than a certain diagnosis, especially when multiple genes and environmental factors play a role. In some situations, though, a single well-characterized variant in a specific gene is enough to confirm a diagnosis.
Are there things that can increase or change my risk?
There is not yet broadly confirmed evidence on specific factors that increase or reduce health risk related to the ADAM28 gene. If ADAM28 appears on a test result and you are concerned about what it means for you or your family, a doctor or genetic counselor can help put it in context.
Inheritance of ADAM28 variants
For people looking into how variants of the ADAM28 gene are inherited, there is not yet a broadly confirmed disease-specific inheritance pattern linked to this gene. Research on the ADAM28 gene is still developing, so no single autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked pattern is used in routine clinical genetics. The ADAM28 gene is located on chromosome 8, which is an autosome, so you inherit one copy from each parent.
What does my ADAM28 result mean for my family?
There is not yet a broadly confirmed inherited condition linked to the ADAM28 gene in the way seen with some other genes. If you have a specific ADAM28 result and want to understand what it could mean for relatives, a doctor or genetic counselor can explain it in the context of your personal and family history.
Genetic information
Genetic testing
How you find out about variants
To look for changes in the ADAM28 gene, ADAM28 genetic testing uses DNA from a blood sample or saliva and reads the gene's sequence, often as part of a broader panel, exome, or genome test. Results may show no variant, a benign variant, or a variant whose health meaning is still uncertain.
When should I consider getting a genetic test?
There is not yet a broadly established, ADAM28-specific reason for genetic testing in routine care. Whether testing makes sense depends on your personal health and family history, and is best discussed with a doctor or genetic counselor.
A genetic result is only one part of your health story
A genetic result can provide useful information, but what it can explain varies with the condition and the kind of variant found. Over time, many factors including lifestyle, environment, age, and medical history influence how the body functions. For some conditions, particularly those shaped by many genes, genetic information offers context rather than certainty and is most useful when considered with the rest of a person’s care. In other situations, a genetic result can give a clear answer. In areas like medication response, it can also help make sense of individual experiences.
Pharmacogenetics
How variants shape your response to medicine
Genetic variation can affect how people respond to medicines. Small differences in genes can change how the body breaks down a drug, moves it through the body, or responds to it at its target. Because of this, the same medication may work better for one person, less well for another, or cause more side effects in someone who is more sensitive to it.
What is Pharmacogenetics?
Pharmacogenetics focuses on how genetic differences affect a person’s response to medications. By studying links between genes and drugs, it helps clarify why the same treatment may work differently from one person to another. For many medicines, genes influence how strongly a drug works or how the body handles it. This information can support treatment decisions that are more informed and more individualized. To explore this topic in greater detail, you can learn more in the LearnHub.
Drugs influenced by the ADAM28 gene
When should I seek medical advice?
There is not yet a broadly confirmed role for this gene in guiding medication response, so any concerns about side effects, starting a new medicine, or how well treatment is working are best discussed with your doctor.
History
ADAM28 entered the scientific literature in the 1990s, when researchers were mapping a broader family of ADAM genes involved in cell surface signaling and tissue interactions. Initially understood only through visible traits, later recognized as tied to a specific gene, this period helped place ADAM28 within a newly expanding area of human genetics. From these first observations, research expanded steadily. Early studies focused on where the gene was active in the body, especially in immune cells, and later work explored its possible links to cancer biology. ADAM28 has remained mainly a research gene rather than a public facing one, but its discovery contributed to the larger effort to understand how related genes shape health and disease.