The ADGRE5 gene helps make a protein on the surface of some immune cells that supports cell movement, cell sticking, and cell signaling. If it does not work properly, the way these cells travel and communicate can change, which may affect inflammation and tissue repair. This gene plays an important role in how your body responds when tissues are injured or under stress. Researchers also study the ADGRE5 gene in some cancers because higher activity may be linked to how cancer cells spread.
What is a gene?
Genes are stretches of DNA that carry instructions your cells use to make molecules or regulate activities throughout the body. Some genes provide the code for proteins, which do much of the cell’s work. Others mostly direct when a process happens, where it happens, and how active it is. In combination, genes affect how your body grows and works, and they may influence how you respond to food, stress, or medicines. For a deeper look at this topic, see the LearnHub.
Overview
ADGRE5Gene function
What if the gene works
The ADGRE5 gene helps make a protein on the surface of certain white blood cells. It supports how these cells stick, move, and communicate during normal immune responses.
Risk
What if the gene does not work
Changes in the ADGRE5 gene can range from milder to more severe and may reduce how well cells stick to each other and send immune signals. This can alter cell communication and movement, especially in white blood cells.
Treatment
What does that mean for your treatment
No ADGRE5-specific treatment or drug-selection approach is currently established for pathogenic or loss-of-function variants in the ADGRE5 gene. The ADGRE5 gene is being studied as a possible biomarker and drug target in some cancers and inflammatory conditions.
Gene function
What if the gene works
Your immune system uses the ADGRE5 gene to help white blood cells connect with other cells and respond to what is happening around them. It mainly works at the cell surface, where it supports contact, movement, and signaling. This is a core part of ADGRE5 gene function in white blood cells during normal immune surveillance.
The ADGRE5 gene makes a surface protein that helps white blood cells attach to nearby cells. One of its best known partners is CD55, a protein found on many cell surfaces, which helps these cell to cell contacts form more easily.
This surface protein helps guide how white blood cells stick, loosen, and move through blood vessels and tissues. Those controlled movements support routine immune patrol and help cells reach places where they are needed.
When white blood cells touch other cells, ADGRE5 can pass signals inward that affect cell shape and activity. This helps immune cells coordinate everyday responses in a more organized way.
What is a variant?
A genetic variant is a small difference in the DNA sequence of a gene. These differences are common and help explain normal human diversity, such as variation in appearance, metabolism, or the way the body responds to environmental influences. Many variants do not have any noticeable effect and are simply part of natural genetic variation. In some situations, though, a variant can change how a gene functions more significantly and may contribute to or cause a genetic condition.
Genetic variants
What if the gene does not work
Changes in the ADGRE5 gene can alter how the cell surface protein is built, folded, cut into its working parts, or moved to the cell membrane. This explains how ADGRE5 gene variants affect protein function: milder variants may partly weaken stability, binding, or signaling, while more severe variants can truncate the protein or stop enough of it from reaching the cell surface. These differences can lead to a range of cellular effects rather than one fixed outcome.
How variants are linked to conditions
At this time, the ADGRE5 gene does not yet have a broadly confirmed link to a specific health condition, although research on ADGRE5 gene variants linked to disease is still developing. If you have a confirmed change in the ADGRE5 gene, the result is best interpreted in the context of your personal and family history with a doctor or genetic counselor.
A variant is not necessarily a diagnosis
Genetic variants are a common and normal feature of human biology. Most do not directly affect health and simply reflect natural variation among people. For many genes, having a variant associated with a condition points to a possible link rather than a confirmed diagnosis, particularly when several genes and environmental influences play a role. In some situations, though, one well understood variant in a particular 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 ADGRE5 gene. If a change in ADGRE5 is found on testing, the meaning often depends on the exact change and the rest of your medical picture, so discussing personal risk with a doctor or genetic counselor can help.
Inheritance of ADGRE5 variants
There is not yet a broadly confirmed, disease-specific Mendelian pattern for how ADGRE5 gene variants are inherited, so ADGRE5 is not usually described with a standard label such as autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive. Current evidence on ADGRE5 gene variant inheritance is still developing as researchers learn more about whether changes in this gene consistently cause a specific inherited condition. The ADGRE5 gene is located on chromosome 19, which is an autosome, so you inherit one copy from each parent.
What does my ADGRE5 result mean for my family?
There is not yet a broadly confirmed inheritance pattern tied to a specific health condition for the ADGRE5 gene, though this understanding can change as research develops. If you have a specific ADGRE5 result and questions about what it could mean for your family, a doctor or genetic counselor can help explain it in the context of your personal and family history.
Genetic information
Genetic testing
How you find out about variants
Genetic testing for ADGRE5 variants usually uses a blood or saliva sample. A lab reads the DNA code in the ADGRE5 gene, often as part of a larger gene panel or exome test, to look for changes linked to a health condition. Results may identify a variant, show no relevant change, or find a variant of uncertain significance.
When should I consider getting a genetic test?
There isn't yet a broadly established, ADGRE5-specific clinical reason for testing. Decisions about genetic testing are best made with a doctor or genetic counselor, based on your symptoms, personal health history, and family history.
A genetic result is only one part of your health story
A genetic result can provide useful insight, but how much it reveals varies based on the condition and the type of variant present. Over time, many factors, including lifestyle, environment, age, and medical history, influence how the body functions. In some conditions, especially those affected by many genes, genetic information provides context rather than certainty and is best considered alongside other parts of care. In other situations, a genetic result may offer a clear answer. In areas such as medication response, genetic results can also help put individual experiences into context.
Pharmacogenetics
How variants shape your response to medicine
Genetic variation can affect how people respond to medicines. Small differences in DNA can change how the body breaks down a drug, moves it through the bloodstream, or responds to it at its target. This helps explain why the same treatment works well for one person, has less effect in another, or causes more side effects in someone else.
What is Pharmacogenetics?
Pharmacogenetics examines the ways genetic differences shape a person’s response to medications. By studying links between genes and drugs, it helps explain why the same treatment can affect people differently. With many medicines, genes influence either how powerfully a drug works or how the body handles it. This understanding can support treatment choices that are more informed and tailored to the individual. More detailed information on this topic is available in the LearnHub.
Drugs influenced by the ADGRE5 gene
When should I seek medical advice?
There is not yet a broadly confirmed role for this gene in guiding medication choice or dose, so general questions about medicines, side effects, or new symptoms are best discussed with your doctor.
History
ADGRE5 entered the scientific literature through studies of immune cells, where its protein was first recognized by the name CD97. In the 1990s, researchers linked this marker to white blood cells and to a broader family of cell surface proteins involved in cell signaling. Scientific classifications changed as researchers learned more about the gene. As naming systems became more standardized, CD97 was renamed the ADGRE5 gene to reflect its place in the adhesion G protein coupled receptor family. From these first observations, research expanded steadily into cancer biology, inflammation, and immune system behavior. This history reflects a wider shift in genetics, from identifying proteins by laboratory markers to organizing genes by their shared structure and role.