DNA Traits · Immune biology
White blood cell count association
The number of white blood cells, the cells of the immune system, in the blood.
What the research found
In the cited research, the A allele at rs2517524 was associated with higher total white blood cell counts in the studied cohorts.
- CC
- Lower average
- AC
- Middle
- AA
- Higher average
- Evidence
- Genome-wide association with independent replication
- Who was studied
- European-ancestry discovery and independent replication cohorts
How common each genotype is
| Region | CCLower average | ACMiddle | AAHigher average |
|---|---|---|---|
| All regions2,504 people | 14% | 43% | 43% |
| Africa661 people | 9% | 41% | 50% |
| The Americas347 people | 16% | 50% | 35% |
| East Asia504 people | 14% | 42% | 44% |
| Europe503 people | 22% | 48% | 29% |
| South Asia489 people | 9% | 38% | 53% |
Among the 2,504 people of the 1000 Genomes Project, in five world regions. These percentages describe groups of people, never anyone’s chance of having a trait.
The marker
- Gene or region
- HLA / MUC21 region
- Marker
- rs2517524
- Location
- Chromosome 6 · GRCh37 31,025,713 · GRCh38 31,057,936
- Letters studied
- A and C, with A as the studied allele
A DNA Traits report reads this marker in your raw DNA file and shows which of the three genotypes is yours, with how common it is. It counts the copies of the studied allele; it does not measure the trait itself.
- Marker
- HLA / MUC21 region · rs2517524
- Location
- Chromosome 6 · GRCh37 31,025,713 · GRCh38 31,057,936
- Studied allele
- A
- Published statistic
- Joint beta +0.013 per A allele on natural-log WBC count (SE 0.002), P 1.46e-12; discovery +0.017 (SE 0.003), P 2.64e-9; independent replication +0.011 (SE 0.003), P 2.50e-5 (Table 2) (Table 2, total white blood cell count row; Methods (transformation))
- 1000 Genomes Project phase 3, people with 0, 1 and 2 copies
- All regions 343 / 1082 / 1079 · Africa 61 / 270 / 330 · The Americas 55 / 172 / 120 · East Asia 70 / 212 / 222 · Europe 113 / 243 / 147 · South Asia 44 / 185 / 260
What it cannot tell you
This small association is with a laboratory blood-cell count within the normal range studied. It does not estimate your current count, grade immune strength or predict infection, allergy, autoimmune disease or blood cancer. Only the studied A/C allele pair is interpreted.
Multiple Loci Are Associated with White Blood Cell Phenotypes (Nalls et al., 2011)More in Immune biology
See your own two letters.
Upload the raw DNA file you already have. Your report reads this marker and every other card studied for you, each with its evidence and its limits.