ALDH1A1 Gene

HGNC Family	Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH)
Name	aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family, member A1
Description	The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the aldehyde dehydrogenase family. Aldehyde dehydrogenase is the next enzyme after alcohol dehydrogenase in the major pathway of alcohol metabolism. There are two major aldehyde dehydrogenase isozymes in the liver, cytosolic and mitochondrial, which are encoded by distinct genes, and can be distinguished by their electrophoretic mobility, kinetic properties, and subcellular localization. This gene encodes the cytosolic isozyme. Studies in mice show that through its role in retinol metabolism, this gene may also be involved in the regulation of the metabolic responses to high-fat diet. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2011]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 (ALDH1A1) has emerged as a critical molecule in cancer biology by functioning both as a detoxifying enzyme and as a robust marker for cancer stem cells (CSCs). Elevated ALDH1A1 activity identifies a distinct subpopulation of tumor cells endowed with self‐renewal, high clonogenicity, and tumor‐initiating capabilities. These ALDH1A1‑positive cells are observed in a range of malignancies—including breast, head and neck, ovarian, prostate, and melanoma cancers—and are strongly associated with chemoresistance, metastasis, and poor clinical outcomes."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Functionally, ALDH1A1’s enzymatic activity contributes to the intracellular clearance of toxic aldehydes, thereby enhancing cell survival under stress conditions. In experimental models, ALDH1A1‑positive cancer cells not only demonstrate high tumorigenicity in xenograft studies but also appear to drive tumor heterogeneity by sustaining the CSC compartment. Importantly, preclinical studies indicate that therapeutic targeting of ALDH1A1 can sensitize resistant ovarian and prostate cancer cells to chemotherapy, underscoring its potential prognostic and therapeutic value.\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In summary, ALDH1A1 functions as a pivotal mediator of CSC characteristics—enabling self‐renewal, mediating resistance to cytotoxic stress, and fostering tumor progression. These properties make ALDH1A1 an attractive target for novel cancer therapies aimed at eradicating the subpopulation of cells critical for tumor relapse and metastasis.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Christophe Ginestier, Min Hee Hur, Emmanuelle Charafe-Jauffret, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ALDH1 is a marker of normal and malignant human mammary stem cells and a predictor of poor clinical outcome."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Stem Cell (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.stem.2007.08.014"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2007.08.014"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18371393"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18371393"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yu-Chih Chen, Yi-Wei Chen, Han-Shui Hsu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 is a putative marker for cancer stem cells in head and neck squamous cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biochem Biophys Res Commun (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.bbrc.2009.05.048"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2009.05.048"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19450560"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19450560"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Charles N Landen, Blake Goodman, Ashwini A Katre, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Targeting aldehyde dehydrogenase cancer stem cells in ovarian cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cancer Ther (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-10-0563"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-10-0563"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20889728"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20889728"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ting Li, Yun Su, Yuping Mei, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ALDH1A1 is a marker for malignant prostate stem cells and predictor of prostate cancer patients' outcome."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lab Invest (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/labinvest.2009.127"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/labinvest.2009.127"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20010854"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20010854"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Shan Deng, Xiaojun Yang, Heini Lassus, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Distinct expression levels and patterns of stem cell marker, aldehyde dehydrogenase isoform 1 (ALDH1), in human epithelial cancers."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "PLoS One (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1371/journal.pone.0010277"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010277"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20422001"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20422001"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lilly Y W Bourguignon, Gabriel Wong, Christine Earle, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hyaluronan-CD44v3 interaction with Oct4-Sox2-Nanog promotes miR-302 expression leading to self-renewal, clonal formation, and cisplatin resistance in cancer stem cells from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M111.308528"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M111.308528"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22847005"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22847005"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	RALDH1, ALDH-E1, ALDH1, ALDH11, HEL-9, PUMB1, HEL-S-53E, HEL12
Proteins	AL1A1_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	216
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

ALDH1A1 has 13,057 functional associations with biological entities spanning 8 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 115 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for ALDH1A1 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

ALDH1A1 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles	cell lines with fitness changed by ALDH1A1 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with ALDH1A1 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with ALDH1A1 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ALDH1A1 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of ALDH1A1 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of ALDH1A1 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of ALDH1A1 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing ALDH1A1 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing ALDH1A1 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with ALDH1A1 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with ALDH1A1 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with ALDH1A1 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with ALDH1A1 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ALDH1A1 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations	traits associated with ALDH1A1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 protein relative to other small molecule perturbations from the DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by ALDH1A1 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with ALDH1A1 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with ALDH1A1 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ALDH1A1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with ALDH1A1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	DrugBank Drug Targets	interacting drugs for ALDH1A1 protein from the curated DrugBank Drug Targets dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at ALDH1A1 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ALDH1A1 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of ALDH1A1 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing ALDH1A1 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ALDH1A1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ALDH1A1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ALDH1A1 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.