RAD23B makes a protein that helps cells detect and clear damaged DNA, including injury caused by ultraviolet light from the sun. This gene helps your body support one of its main DNA repair pathways, which protects the instructions your cells use every day. If the RAD23B gene does not work properly, damaged DNA may build up and cells may not function as well. Because of this role, researchers pay attention to the RAD23B gene in studies of cancer risk and sensitivity to DNA damage.
What is a gene?
Genes are stretches of DNA that carry instructions your cells use to make molecules or regulate activities in the body. Some genes hold the code for proteins, which are the working parts of cells. Other genes mainly control when certain processes happen, where they take place, and how strongly they run. Together, genes affect how the body develops and functions, and they can also shape how you respond to food, stress, or medications. For a deeper look at this topic, you can learn more in the LearnHub.
Overview
RAD23BGene function
What if the gene works
The RAD23B gene helps cells repair DNA damage, especially damage caused by ultraviolet light. It also helps move some damaged proteins to the cell's recycling system.
Risk
What if the gene does not work
Milder to more severe variants in the RAD23B gene can reduce how well cells recognize and help remove damaged DNA. When RAD23B function drops, DNA repair becomes less efficient and damaged proteins may be handled less effectively.
Treatment
What does that mean for your treatment
No treatment or drug choice approach specifically tied to pathogenic variants in the RAD23B gene is currently established in clinical guidelines. The RAD23B gene is being studied as a possible biomarker for response to some cancer drugs, including histone deacetylase inhibitors, but this has not become routine care.
Gene function
What if the gene works
Every day, your cells handle small injuries to DNA and routine protein cleanup. Your cells rely on the RAD23B gene to spot certain DNA damage and support protein recycling. This is part of how the RAD23B gene helps repair DNA damage from sunlight and other everyday exposures while keeping cell housekeeping organized.
The protein made from the RAD23B gene works with XPC to find DNA damage that bends the DNA strand, including damage from UV light. This helps your cells begin nucleotide excision repair (a process that cuts out and replaces damaged DNA).
RAD23B also helps keep XPC steady and available inside the cell. That support makes the first steps of DNA repair more reliable when cells are checking DNA for injury.
RAD23B can carry some proteins marked for removal to the proteasome (the cell’s protein recycling system). This supports protein quality control and helps cells clear proteins they no longer need.
What is a variant?
A genetic variant is a small change in the DNA sequence within a gene. These changes are common and are part of normal human diversity, such as differences in appearance, metabolism, or 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 cause a genetic condition.
Genetic variants
What if the gene does not work
Variants in the RAD23B gene can change how RAD23B gene variants affect DNA repair by making the protein less stable or less able to bind its repair partners. When that happens, cells may clear certain types of DNA damage less efficiently. Milder variants can leave some activity in place, while more severe variants may lead to very little or no working protein. This severity range can shape how much repair function is reduced.
How variants are linked to conditions
Variants in the RAD23B gene do not yet have a broadly confirmed link to a specific health condition, although research on RAD23B gene variants linked to conditions is still evolving. If you have a confirmed result involving the RAD23B gene, your doctor or genetic counselor can explain what it means for you and your family.
A variant is not necessarily a diagnosis
Genetic variants are a usual part of human biology and are widespread across the general population. Most do not directly affect health and simply reflect natural human variation. For many genes, having a variant associated with a condition points to a possible link rather than a certain diagnosis, particularly when several genes and environmental influences also play a role. In some situations, though, one well-characterized 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 RAD23B gene. Because RAD23B helps with repair of sun-related DNA damage, overall ultraviolet exposure may still matter for skin health, and personal risk is best reviewed with a doctor or genetic counselor.
Inheritance of RAD23B variants
There is not yet a broadly confirmed inheritance pattern for RAD23B-related disease, so how variants of the RAD23B gene are inherited is still being clarified as research develops. The RAD23B gene is located on chromosome 9, which is an autosome. That means everyone inherits two copies of the RAD23B gene, one from each parent.
What does my RAD23B result mean for my family?
There isn't yet a broadly confirmed inheritance pattern tied to a specific condition for RAD23B, though this understanding can change as research develops. If you have a specific RAD23B result and questions about what it could mean for your family, 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
RAD23B genetic testing usually uses a blood or saliva sample to read the RAD23B gene and look for variants. This type of test, often included in broader inherited condition panels or whole exome sequencing, can help show whether a RAD23B gene variant is present and whether it fits a person’s symptoms or family history.
When should I consider getting a genetic test?
There is not yet a broadly established RAD23B-specific reason for genetic testing in routine care. Testing choices are usually based on your personal health and family history with a doctor or genetic counselor.
A genetic result is only one part of your health story
Genetic results can provide useful insight, yet how much they reveal depends on the condition and the kind of variant involved. Over time, factors like lifestyle, environment, age, and medical history also influence how the body functions. For some conditions, particularly those shaped by many genes, genetic information offers context rather than certainty and makes the most sense when considered with other parts of care. In other situations, a genetic result can give a clear answer. In areas like medication response, genetic results may also help put personal experiences in context.
Pharmacogenetics
How variants shape your response to medicine
Genetic variation can affect how your body handles certain medicines, so the same treatment may not work the same way for everyone. Some people break down a drug faster or slower, while others may be more or less sensitive to its effects. This is a common part of normal human differences and can influence how well a medicine works or the chance of side effects. Along with age, kidney and liver function, and other health factors, inherited DNA differences help explain why medication response varies from person to person.
What is Pharmacogenetics?
Pharmacogenetics examines how genetic differences affect the way people respond to medicines. It focuses on gene and drug patterns to help explain why the same treatment may work differently from one person to another. For many medicines, genes influence both how the body handles a drug and how strong its effects may be. This information can guide treatment decisions that are both more informed and more individualized. More detail on this topic is available in the LearnHub.
Drugs influenced by the RAD23B gene
When should I seek medical advice?
There is not yet a broadly confirmed role for this gene in guiding medication response, so general concerns about side effects, new symptoms, or how well a treatment is working are best discussed with your doctor.
History
RAD23B entered human genetics through research on yeast genes that helped scientists map how cells respond to DNA damage. In the 1990s, researchers identified the RAD23B gene as a human relative of the earlier RAD23 gene first studied in simple model organisms. Building on this early work, scientists linked RAD23B to the growing field of nucleotide excision repair, the DNA repair pathway explored in conditions such as xeroderma pigmentosum. Its discovery helped connect laboratory findings from basic biology to inherited sensitivity to ultraviolet light. Although the RAD23B gene never became a major public story, it has remained part of the broader history of DNA repair research and the gradual understanding of inherited cancer and skin risk.