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APOL4

gene
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Also known as APOLIV

Summary

APOL4 (apolipoprotein L4, HGNC:14867) is a protein-coding gene on chromosome 22q12.3, encoding Apolipoprotein L4 (Q9BPW4). May play a role in lipid exchange and transport throughout the body.

This gene encodes a member of the apolipoprotein L family. The encoded protein may play a role in lipid exchange and transport throughout the body, as well as in reverse cholesterol transport from peripheral cells to the liver. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants.

Source: NCBI Gene 80832 — RefSeq curated summary.

At a glance

  • Clinical variants (ClinVar): 32 total
  • GTEx eGene: eQTL in 49 tissues, sQTL in 21 (q < 0.05)
  • Constraint (gnomAD): pLI 0.00 (LoF-tolerant), LOEUF 1.86 (unconstrained)
  • MANE Select transcript: NM_001386885

Identifiers

Gene identifiers

FieldValue
HGNC IDHGNC:14867
Approved symbolAPOL4
Nameapolipoprotein L4
Location22q12.3
Locus typegene with protein product
StatusApproved
AliasesAPOLIV
Ensembl geneENSG00000100336
Ensembl biotypeprotein_coding
OMIM607254
Entrez80832

Gene structure

Transcript identifiers

Ensembl transcripts: 14 — 10 protein_coding, 2 protein_coding_CDS_not_defined, 1 retained_intron, 1 nonsense_mediated_decay

MANE Select: ENST00000683024

Transcript support level (Ensembl TSL; 1 = fully mRNA-supported): TSL 1: 3, TSL 2: 1, TSL 4: 4, TSL 5: 3

ENST00000683024, ENST00000332987, ENST00000352371, ENST00000397275, ENST00000419360, ENST00000436763, ENST00000449084, ENST00000457630, ENST00000480236, ENST00000493203, ENST00000613247, ENST00000616056, ENST00000684666, ENST00000880614

RefSeq mRNA: 4 — MANE Select: NM_001386885 NM_001386885, NM_030643, NM_145660, NM_145661

CCDS: CCDS74851, CCDS74852, CCDS93158

Canonical transcript exons

ENST00000683024 — 4 exons

ExonStartEnd
ENSE000017422793618912836191912
ENSE000035109383619531136195437
ENSE000035137033619933036199376
ENSE000039189143620170036201809

Expression profiles

Bgee: expression breadth ubiquitous, 203 present calls, max score 86.29.

FANTOM5 (CAGE): breadth broad, TPM avg 4.1849 / max 416.7855, expressed in 510 samples.

Highest expression (Bgee): adenohypophysis, uterine tube, tendon of biceps brachii, pituitary gland, pancreatic ductal cell.

Genetic regulation across tissues (GTEx eQTL / sQTL)

APOL4 is an eGene in GTEx v10 — its expression is genetically regulated (eQTL) in 49 tissues and its splicing (sQTL) in 21 (q < 0.05). Strongest associations first; slope = normalized effect of the lead variant’s alternative allele.

showing 20 of 70 significant tissue × QTL associations:

TissueQTLq-valueSlopeLead variant
Artery Tibialeqtl5.1e-83-0.8222:36201052:A:G
Adipose Subcutaneouseqtl5.9e-79-0.6322:36201831:G:A
Thyroideqtl1.4e-64-0.6422:36201052:A:G
Esophagus Mucosaeqtl2.7e-64+0.7822:36205634:C:A
Nerve Tibialeqtl8.2e-53-0.8822:36201698:A:C
Artery Aortaeqtl7.0e-52-0.7422:36201052:A:G
Heart Atrial Appendageeqtl1.8e-46-0.7322:36201831:G:A
Adipose Visceral Omentumeqtl3.8e-46-0.5022:36201052:A:G
Muscle Skeletaleqtl1.4e-44-0.8522:36201698:A:C
Esophagus Musculariseqtl3.7e-44-0.6722:36201052:A:G
Cells Cultured fibroblastseqtl1.8e-41-0.5822:36201698:A:C
Breast Mammary Tissueeqtl2.2e-36-0.7622:36201698:A:C
Heart Left Ventricleeqtl6.4e-35-0.9922:36202599:G:A
Colon Transverseeqtl2.8e-34-0.9622:36201698:A:C
Esophagus Mucosasqtl4.2e-33-0.8222:36206861:TTTGC:T
Lungeqtl1.1e-30-0.9722:36202255:C:T
Skin Sun Exposed Lower legeqtl1.9e-30-0.5322:36200606:C:T
Skin Sun Exposed Lower legsqtl8.7e-29-0.7322:36207248:G:A
Colon Sigmoideqtl1.2e-28-1.0722:36201698:A:C
Esophagus Gastroesophageal Junctioneqtl1.9e-26-0.5922:36201052:A:G

FANTOM5 promoters

6 alternative TSS:

Promoter IDTPM avgSamples expressed
1938672.9620395
1938680.6688271
1938660.354487
1938650.132745
1938690.042923
1938700.024112

Top tissues by expression

showing 100 of 234 tissues by Bgee expression score (0-100, higher = more expressed):

TissueAnatomy IDExpression scoreQuality
adenohypophysisUBERON:000219686.29gold quality
right uterine tubeUBERON:000130285.78gold quality
tendon of biceps brachiiUBERON:000818884.96gold quality
pituitary glandUBERON:000000783.65gold quality
pancreatic ductal cellCL:000207983.42silver quality
omental fat padUBERON:001041481.47gold quality
peritoneumUBERON:000235881.42gold quality
vermiform appendixUBERON:000115480.83gold quality
gall bladderUBERON:000211080.45gold quality
adipose tissue of abdominal regionUBERON:000780880.24gold quality
prostate glandUBERON:000236779.82gold quality
ganglionic eminenceUBERON:000402378.96gold quality
primordial germ cell in gonadCL:0000670 ∩ UBERON:000099178.48gold quality
epithelial cell of pancreasCL:000008378.39gold quality
saliva-secreting glandUBERON:000104478.30gold quality
endometriumUBERON:000129578.30gold quality
minor salivary glandUBERON:000183077.85gold quality
olfactory segment of nasal mucosaUBERON:000538677.85gold quality
subcutaneous adipose tissueUBERON:000219077.79gold quality
tibial nerveUBERON:000132377.69gold quality
colonic epitheliumUBERON:000039777.32gold quality
upper lobe of left lungUBERON:000895277.27gold quality
apex of heartUBERON:000209877.00gold quality
urinary bladderUBERON:000125576.17gold quality
upper lobe of lungUBERON:000894876.17gold quality
smooth muscle tissueUBERON:000113575.79gold quality
left uterine tubeUBERON:000130375.77gold quality
caecumUBERON:000115375.66gold quality
mouth mucosaUBERON:000372975.56gold quality
skin of abdomenUBERON:000141674.95gold quality
esophagogastric junction muscularis propriaUBERON:003584174.86gold quality
right lungUBERON:000216774.80gold quality
skeletal muscle tissue of rectus abdominisUBERON:000451174.73gold quality
lymph nodeUBERON:000002974.61gold quality
granulocyteCL:000009474.59gold quality
tendonUBERON:000004374.41gold quality
skin of legUBERON:000151174.14gold quality
rectumUBERON:000105274.01gold quality
uterusUBERON:000099573.98gold quality
body of uterusUBERON:000985373.98gold quality
monocyteCL:000057673.91gold quality
left coronary arteryUBERON:000162673.68gold quality
body of stomachUBERON:000116173.62gold quality
leukocyteCL:000073873.59gold quality
adipose tissueUBERON:000101373.58gold quality
vaginaUBERON:000099673.41gold quality
right ovaryUBERON:000211873.27gold quality
stomachUBERON:000094573.25gold quality
heart left ventricleUBERON:000208473.24gold quality
right lobe of thyroid glandUBERON:000111973.20gold quality
left lobe of thyroid glandUBERON:000112073.20gold quality
small intestine Peyer’s patchUBERON:000345473.17gold quality
left ovaryUBERON:000211973.05gold quality
lower esophagus muscularis layerUBERON:003583372.98gold quality
lower esophagusUBERON:001347372.96gold quality
lungUBERON:000204872.77gold quality
cardiac ventricleUBERON:000208272.76gold quality
ectocervixUBERON:001224972.75gold quality
esophagusUBERON:000104372.62gold quality
metanephros cortexUBERON:001053372.56gold quality
muscle layer of sigmoid colonUBERON:003580572.51gold quality
endocervixUBERON:000045872.43gold quality
esophagus mucosaUBERON:000246972.43gold quality
heartUBERON:000094872.40gold quality
right atrium auricular regionUBERON:000663172.36gold quality
zone of skinUBERON:000001472.23gold quality
female reproductive systemUBERON:000047472.22gold quality
small intestineUBERON:000210872.10gold quality
transverse colonUBERON:000115772.00gold quality
coronary arteryUBERON:000162171.94gold quality
cardiac atriumUBERON:000208171.71gold quality
thyroid glandUBERON:000204671.68gold quality
spleenUBERON:000210671.49gold quality
calcaneal tendonUBERON:000370171.49gold quality
fallopian tubeUBERON:000388971.14gold quality
descending thoracic aortaUBERON:000234571.13gold quality
uterine cervixUBERON:000000271.06gold quality
adult mammalian kidneyUBERON:000008270.88gold quality
esophagus squamous epitheliumUBERON:000692070.53silver quality
intestineUBERON:000016070.48gold quality
ovaryUBERON:000099270.38gold quality
right lobe of liverUBERON:000111470.11gold quality
medial globus pallidusUBERON:000247770.10gold quality
thoracic aortaUBERON:000151570.08gold quality
colonUBERON:000115570.07gold quality
ascending aortaUBERON:000149670.02gold quality
large intestineUBERON:000005969.77gold quality
fundus of stomachUBERON:000116069.68gold quality
islet of LangerhansUBERON:000000669.55gold quality
aortaUBERON:000094769.46gold quality
tibial arteryUBERON:000761069.26gold quality
popliteal arteryUBERON:000225069.23gold quality
left adrenal glandUBERON:000123469.04gold quality
bone marrow cellCL:000209268.68silver quality
placentaUBERON:000198768.41gold quality
hindlimb stylopod muscleUBERON:000425268.11gold quality
muscle of legUBERON:000138367.94gold quality
ventricular zoneUBERON:000305367.86gold quality
kidneyUBERON:000211367.77gold quality
gastrocnemiusUBERON:000138867.75gold quality

Single-cell (SCXA)

Detected in 1 experiment(s), a significant marker in 1.

ExperimentMarker?Max mean expression
E-ANND-3yes5.64

HPA expression

RNA tissue specificity: Low tissue specificity

showing 60 of 61 HPA tissues / cells by nTPM:

Tissue / cellAxisnTPMProtein (IHC)
Cerebellumtissue22.5not detected
Hypothalamustissue22.0
Midbraintissue21.3
Cerebral cortextissue20.8not detected
Medulla oblongatatissue20.5
Postcentral gyrustissue19.3
Ponstissue19.0
Basal gangliatissue18.2not detected
Putamentissue18.2
Hippocampal formationtissue18.1
Thalamustissue17.7
Nucleus accumbenstissue17.4
Retrosplenial cortextissue17.2
Occipital cortextissue17.2
Amygdalatissue17.1
Spinal cordtissue16.8
Hippocampustissue16.7not detected
Substantia nigratissue16.5
Locus coeruleustissue15.4
Lungtissue14.0not detected
Prostatetissue14.0not detected
Choroid plexustissue13.9
Urinary bladdertissue11.1not detected
Gallbladdertissue6.6not detected
Adipose tissuetissue6.3not detected
Heart muscletissue6.0not detected
Breasttissue5.9not detected
Lymph nodetissue5.8not detected
Appendixtissue5.8not detected
Fallopian tubetissue5.7not detected
Ovarytissue5.5not detected
Stomach 1tissue5.3not detected
Duodenumtissue5.3not detected
Cervixtissue5.1not detected
Endometrium 1tissue5.0not detected
Kidneytissue4.7not detected
Bone marrowtissue4.7not detected
Small intestinetissue4.5not detected
Esophagustissue4.3not detected
Rectumtissue4.1not detected
Colontissue3.9not detected
Skin 1tissue3.4not detected
Spleentissue3.3not detected
Retinatissue3.1
Placentatissue3.0not detected
Thymustissue3.0
Seminal vesicletissue2.9not detected
Skeletal muscletissue2.8not detected
Tonguetissue2.8
Salivary glandtissue2.5not detected
Adrenal glandtissue2.2not detected
Livertissue2.0not detected
Tonsiltissue1.9not detected
Smooth muscletissue1.8not detected
Vaginatissue1.6not detected
Epididymistissue1.6not detected
Thyroid glandtissue1.6not detected
Testistissue1.5not detected
Pancreastissue1.3not detected
Pituitary glandtissue1.0

Brain sub-regions (HPA Brain Atlas): detected in 185; highest nTPM — Flocculonodular lobe (22.5), Vermis (22.3), Arcuate nucleus (22.0), Preoptic area (21.4), Periaquaductal grey, dorsal (21.3).

Regulation

Is transcription factor: no

Upstream regulators (CollecTRI, top): STAT1

miRNA regulators (miRDB)

Targeting APOL4 by miRDB confidence (max_score; target_count = how many genes the miRNA targets in total — lower means more specific).

showing 30 of 96 miRNAs:

miRNAMax scoreAvg scoremiRNA target_count
HSA-MIR-5193100.0067.261744
HSA-MIR-513B-5P99.9969.962150
HSA-MIR-548N99.9871.944170
HSA-MIR-211099.9666.681930
HSA-MIR-4725-3P99.9669.532520
HSA-MIR-6780B-5P99.9669.602562
HSA-MIR-55999.9572.283609
HSA-MIR-548AB99.9571.313488
HSA-MIR-548A-5P99.9471.273482
HSA-MIR-548AD-5P99.9471.233502
HSA-MIR-548AE-5P99.9471.233502
HSA-MIR-548AK99.9471.243488
HSA-MIR-548AM-5P99.9471.243488
HSA-MIR-548AP-5P99.9471.143489
HSA-MIR-548AQ-5P99.9471.343426
HSA-MIR-548AR-5P99.9471.283515
HSA-MIR-548AS-5P99.9471.223482
HSA-MIR-548AU-5P99.9471.243488
HSA-MIR-548AY-5P99.9471.233502
HSA-MIR-548B-5P99.9471.233502
HSA-MIR-548BB-5P99.9471.273509
HSA-MIR-548C-5P99.9471.243488
HSA-MIR-548D-5P99.9471.233502
HSA-MIR-548H-5P99.9471.243488
HSA-MIR-548I99.9471.253481
HSA-MIR-548J-5P99.9471.143489
HSA-MIR-548O-5P99.9471.243488
HSA-MIR-548W99.9471.243488
HSA-MIR-548Y99.9471.283514
HSA-MIR-539-5P99.9370.302855

Functional genomics

gnomAD constraint: pLI 3.82e-06, LOEUF 1.86, missense Z 0.237 — population loss-of-function intolerance (pLI ≥ 0.9 = LoF-intolerant; lower LOEUF = more constrained). gnomAD

Regional missense constraint (gnomAD RMC): no regional variation along ENST00000683024 — one region, missense o/e 1.02.

Literature-anchored findings (GeneRIF, showing 2)

  • APOL4 has been found only in humans and African green monkeys (PMID:11944986)
  • An association of APOL1, 2 and 4 with schizophrenia was establised. (PMID:18632255)

Cross-species orthologs

19 orthologs

OrganismSymbolGene ID
mus_musculusApol7aENSMUSG00000010601
mus_musculusApol7cENSMUSG00000044309
mus_musculusApol10bENSMUSG00000050014
mus_musculusApol10aENSMUSG00000050982
mus_musculusApol9aENSMUSG00000057346
mus_musculusApol9bENSMUSG00000068246
mus_musculusApol7bENSMUSG00000068252
mus_musculusApol7eENSMUSG00000071716
mus_musculusApol11aENSMUSG00000091650
mus_musculusApol11bENSMUSG00000091694
rattus_norvegicusApol9aENSRNOG00000023410
rattus_norvegicusApol3l1ENSRNOG00000042771
rattus_norvegicusAABR07058479.1ENSRNOG00000047414
rattus_norvegicusApol7bl1ENSRNOG00000047782
rattus_norvegicusApol7aENSRNOG00000052981
rattus_norvegicusLOC120093819ENSRNOG00000069032
rattus_norvegicusApol11aENSRNOG00000081988
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00017219
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00017220

Paralogs (6): APOL1 (ENSG00000100342), APOL3 (ENSG00000128284), APOL5 (ENSG00000128313), APOL2 (ENSG00000128335), APOLD1 (ENSG00000178878), APOL6 (ENSG00000221963)

Mouse-model phenotypes

Observed phenotypes of the mouse ortholog (MGI:1923011) from MGI (Alliance of Genome Resources) — knockout/mutant phenotypes, ranked by annotation count. 3 distinct phenotype terms.

Mouse phenotype (MP)Records
abnormal dendritic cell physiology1
abnormal dendritic cell antigen presentation1
increased heart left ventricle size1

Genomic neighbors (locus context)

Genes flanking this one on the chromosome (NCBI/Entrez gene neighborhood). Positional context only — some neighbors share regulatory elements (bidirectional promoters, antisense/overlapping transcripts), but chromosomal adjacency is not itself a functional relationship (see Interactions for that).

SymbolTypeEntrez
APOL2protein-coding23780
APOL1protein-coding8542
MIR6819ncRNA102465491
MYH9protein-coding4627
MYH9-DTncRNA105377199

Protein

Protein identifiers

Apolipoprotein L4 — Q9BPW4 (reviewed: Q9BPW4)

Alternative names: Apolipoprotein L-IV

All UniProt accessions (6): Q9BPW4, B1AHJ0, B1AHJ2, E9PS31, F5H1P9, Q9BRG6

UniProt curated annotations — full annotation on UniProt →

Function. May play a role in lipid exchange and transport throughout the body. May participate in reverse cholesterol transport from peripheral cells to the liver.

Subcellular location. Secreted.

Tissue specificity. Widely expressed; the highest levels are in spinal cord, placenta, adrenal gland; also detected in spleen, bone marrow, uterus, trachea, mammary gland and testis; levels are low in brain, heart and pancreas.

Similarity. Belongs to the apolipoprotein L family.

Isoforms (3)

UniProt IDNamesCanonical?
Q9BPW4-11, Byes
Q9BPW4-22, A
Q9BPW4-33

RefSeq proteins (4): NP_001373814, NP_085146, NP_663693, NP_663694 (=MANE)

Domains & families (InterPro)

IDNameType
IPR008405ApoLFamily

Pfam: PF05461

UniProt features (10 total): sequence variant 6, splice variant 2, signal peptide 1, chain 1

Structure

Predicted structure (AlphaFold)

ModelpLDDTFraction very-high
AF-Q9BPW4-F154.080.00

Human Protein Atlas

Protein class: Predicted membrane proteins, Predicted secreted proteins, Predicted intracellular proteins, Plasma proteins, Human disease related genes, Mental and behavioural disorders, UniProt - Evidence at transcript level

Protein evidence: Evidence at protein level

Subcellular location (HPA, imaging): vesicles

Antibody reliability (HPA): IH uncertain · IF supported

Function

Pathways and Gene Ontology

Reactome pathways

0 curated (TAS) of 0; 0 disease pathways. Curated-first; evidence = TAS (manually curated) vs IEA (electronic inference).

MSigDB gene sets: 73 (showing top): GOBP_LIPOPROTEIN_METABOLIC_PROCESS, GOBP_LIPID_METABOLIC_PROCESS, GOBP_LIPID_LOCALIZATION, GOMF_LIPID_BINDING, MARTENS_TRETINOIN_RESPONSE_UP, MAFG_TARGET_GENES, SKIL_TARGET_GENES, MIR539_5P, MIR513B_5P, MIR3140_3P, MIR2110, MIR450A_2_3P, MIR149_5P, MIR4457, GSE11864_CSF1_IFNG_VS_CSF1_IFNG_PAM3CYS_IN_MAC_UP

GO Biological Process (3): lipid metabolic process (GO:0006629), lipid transport (GO:0006869), lipoprotein metabolic process (GO:0042157)

GO Molecular Function (2): lipid binding (GO:0008289), protein binding (GO:0005515)

GO Cellular Component (2): extracellular region (GO:0005576), membrane (GO:0016020)

GO top-level categories

6 GO namespaces:

CategoryTerms
binding2
cellular anatomical structure2
primary metabolic process1
transport1
lipid localization1
protein metabolic process1

Protein interactions and networks

STRING

showing 15 of 410 interactions by confidence (×1000):

Protein AProtein BPartner UniProtScore
APOL4COMTP21964726
APOL4CHRM4P08173515
APOL4PRODHO43272504
APOL4PRODHO43272487
APOL4OR10H5Q8NGA6463
APOL4PDE4BQ07343436
APOL4OR10H1Q9Y4A9394
APOL4NPIPB9F8W1W9390
APOL4APOOQ9BUR5390
APOL4SYN2Q92777369
APOL4DISC1Q9NRI5356
APOL4APOL5Q9BWW9351
APOL4APOL6Q9BWW8346
APOL4CFAP161Q6P656315
APOL4NPIPB8E9PQR5307

IntAct

Human interaction partners of APOL4 in IntAct, one row per partner (best MIscore; records = supporting IntAct interaction records).

1 partners by confidence:

PartnerInteraction typeMIscoreRecords
TFAP2Cphysical association0.3701

BioGRID (2 interactions; top human partners by supporting records): LNX1 (Two-hybrid), NFYC (Two-hybrid)

Disease & clinical

Genetic variants

Variant evidence for APOL4: 32 ClinVar records (0 pathogenic / likely pathogenic).

ClinVar

32 variants total. Per-class counts are floors (≥ shown; pagination cap):

ClassificationCount (floor)
Pathogenic0
Likely pathogenic0
Uncertain significance15
Likely benign5
Benign0

SpliceAI

Top 10 splice-impact sites by Δscore (adjacent positions with the same effect merged into one range; 27 predictions of 184):

Position(s)EffectΔscoreSites
22:36195309–36195310donor_loss1.00004
22:36195438–36195439acceptor_loss1.00006
22:36195442acceptor_gain1.0000
22:36195310donor_loss0.9900
22:36195450acceptor_gain0.9900
22:36199554donor_gain0.9900
22:36201698–36201699donor_loss0.99005
22:36191913–36191914acceptor_loss0.98006
22:36191920acceptor_gain0.9800
22:36199378acceptor_gain0.9800

HPA cancer prognostics

RNA cancer specificity: Low cancer specificity

Disease associations

OMIM: gene MIM:607254 | disease phenotypes:

Drugs & pharmacology

Drug and pharmacology data

Is drug target: no

PharmGKB: 1 entry (CPIC guideline: no)

CTD chemical–gene interactions

20 total (human), top 20 by PubMed support.

ChemicalActions (top 5)PubMed papers
Particulate Matterincreases abundance, increases expression3
Vehicle Emissionsincreases abundance, increases expression2
Leadaffects expression, decreases expression2
Nickelincreases expression2
aristolochic acid Iincreases expression1
TL8-506affects cotreatment, increases expression1
propionaldehydedecreases expression1
bisphenol Aaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphatedecreases expression1
butyraldehydedecreases expression1
aflatoxin B2increases methylation1
pentanaldecreases expression1
CGP 52608affects binding, increases reaction1
theaflavin-3,3’-digallateaffects expression1
Bortezomibdecreases expression1
Air Pollutantsincreases abundance, increases expression1
Dexamethasoneaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
Indomethacinincreases expression, affects cotreatment1
1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthineincreases expression, affects cotreatment1
Antirheumatic Agentsdecreases expression1

Clinical trials (associated diseases)

Via MONDO — disease-level, not drug-specific.

No linked Atlas pages yet — the cross-entity mesh grows as the corpus expands.