CYP26A1 Gene

HGNC Family	Cytochrome P450s (CYP)
Name	cytochrome P450, family 26, subfamily A, polypeptide 1
Description	This gene encodes a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily of enzymes. The cytochrome P450 proteins are monooxygenases which catalyze many reactions involved in drug metabolism and synthesis of cholesterol, steroids and other lipids. This endoplasmic reticulum protein acts on retinoids, including all-trans-retinoic acid (RA), with both 4-hydroxylation and 18-hydroxylation activities. This enzyme regulates the cellular level of retinoic acid which is involved in regulation of gene expression in both embryonic and adult tissues. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene, which encode the distinct isoforms, have been reported. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n CYP26A1 is a cytochrome P450 enzyme that plays a pivotal role in retinoic acid (RA) homeostasis by metabolizing all‐trans‐retinoic acid into more polar hydroxylated and oxidized derivatives—most notably 4‐hydroxy‐RA—thereby limiting RA signaling in a variety of developmental and adult contexts."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Its expression is inducible by RA via conserved retinoic acid response elements in its promoter, establishing a feedback loop that fine‐tunes local RA concentrations critical for proper anterior–posterior patterning, neural specification, and axial development."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "7", "end_ref": "9"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " By degrading excess RA, CYP26A1 safeguards tissues from aberrant RA exposure; its loss leads to elevated RA levels that disrupt key developmental signals (including those mediated by Wnt3a and Fgf8) and result in defects such as caudal truncations and neural mispatterning."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}, {"type": "fg_f", "ref": "9"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In hepatic tissue, even low-level expression of CYP26A1 is sufficient to account for the majority of RA clearance, underscoring its systemic importance and making it an attractive pharmacological target for modulating RA levels."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, CYP26A1 is integrated within broader gene regulatory networks—as indicated by its regulation via steroid signaling and homeobox factors—that collectively govern axial elongation and differentiation."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "10"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Collectively, these studies demonstrate that CYP26A1 is essential for establishing precise spatial and temporal RA gradients, thereby ensuring appropriate morphogenesis and tissue homeostasis.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Karen Niederreither, Suzan Abu-Abed, Brigitte Schuhbaur, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Genetic evidence that oxidative derivatives of retinoic acid are not involved in retinoid signaling during mouse development."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Genet (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/ng876"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/ng876"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "11953746"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11953746"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mohammed Taimi, Christian Helvig, Jan Wisniewski, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "A novel human cytochrome P450, CYP26C1, involved in metabolism of 9-cis and all-trans isomers of retinoic acid."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M308337200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M308337200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "14532297"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14532297"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jayne E Thatcher, Nina Isoherranen "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The role of CYP26 enzymes in retinoic acid clearance."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1517/17425250903032681"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1517/17425250903032681"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19519282"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19519282"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Justin D Lutz, Vaishali Dixit, Catherine K Yeung, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Expression and functional characterization of cytochrome P450 26A1, a retinoic acid hydroxylase."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biochem Pharmacol (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.bcp.2008.10.012"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2008.10.012"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18992717"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18992717"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ariel R Topletz, Jayne E Thatcher, Alex Zelter, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Comparison of the function and expression of CYP26A1 and CYP26B1, the two retinoic acid hydroxylases."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biochem Pharmacol (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.bcp.2011.10.007"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2011.10.007"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22020119"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22020119"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jayne E Thatcher, Alex Zelter, Nina Isoherranen "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The relative importance of CYP26A1 in hepatic clearance of all-trans retinoic acid."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biochem Pharmacol (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.bcp.2010.05.023"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2010.05.023"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20513361"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20513361"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Olivier Loudig, Glenn A Maclean, Naomi L Dore, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Transcriptional co-operativity between distant retinoic acid response elements in regulation of Cyp26A1 inducibility."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biochem J (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1042/BJ20050874"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1042/BJ20050874"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16053444"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16053444"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ioan Ovidiu Sirbu, Lionel Gresh, Jacqueline Barra, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Shifting boundaries of retinoic acid activity control hindbrain segmental gene expression."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Development (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1242/dev.01845"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.01845"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15872003"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15872003"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Suzan Abu-Abed, Pascal Dollé, Daniel Metzger, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Developing with lethal RA levels: genetic ablation of Rarg can restore the viability of mice lacking Cyp26a1."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Development (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1242/dev.00357"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.00357"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12588859"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12588859"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jae-Wook Jeong, Kevin Y Lee, Inseok Kwak, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Identification of murine uterine genes regulated in a ligand-dependent manner by the progesterone receptor."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Endocrinology (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1210/en.2005-0016"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2005-0016"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15845616"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15845616"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Joanne G A Savory, Nathalie Bouchard, Vicki Pierre, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cdx2 regulation of posterior development through non-Hox targets."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Development (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1242/dev.041582"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.041582"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19906845"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19906845"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	CP26, P450RAI, P450RAI1, CYP26
Proteins	CP26A_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	1592
API
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

CYP26A1 has 7,244 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 107 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for CYP26A1 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of CYP26A1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of CYP26A1 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas	gene perturbations changing expression of CYP26A1 gene from the CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of CYP26A1 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing CYP26A1 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing CYP26A1 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with CYP26A1 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with CYP26A1 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with CYP26A1 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by CYP26A1 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DGIdb Drug Targets 2026	interacting drugs for CYP26A1 protein from the DGIdb Drug Targets 2026 dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases associated with CYP26A1 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with CYP26A1 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with CYP26A1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	DrugBank Drug Targets	interacting drugs for CYP26A1 protein from the curated DrugBank Drug Targets dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of CYP26A1 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 CYP26A1 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with CYP26A1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.