CHRNA7-FAM7A fusion protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CHRFAM7Agene.[1][2]
The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are members of a superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels that mediate fast signal transmission at synapses. The family member CHRNA7, which is located on chromosome 15 in a region associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders, is partially duplicated and forms a hybrid with a novel gene from the family with sequence similarity 7 (FAM7A). Alternative splicing has been observed, and two variants exist, for this hybrid gene. The N-terminally truncated products predicted by the largest open reading frames for each variant would lack the majority of the neurotransmitter-gated ion-channel ligand binding domain but retain the transmembrane region that forms the ion channel. Although current evidence supports transcription of this hybrid gene, translation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-like protein-encoding open reading frames has not been confirmed.[2]
CHRFAM7A has not been found in nonhuman primates, and its occurrence in individuals of African descent is significantly lower than in Caucasian populations.[3]
References
↑Riley B, Williamson M, Collier D, Wilkie H, Makoff A (Feb 2002). "A 3-Mb map of a large Segmental duplication overlapping the alpha7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene (CHRNA7) at human 15q13-q14". Genomics. 79 (2): 197–209. doi:10.1006/geno.2002.6694. PMID11829490.
Gault J, Robinson M, Berger R, et al. (1998). "Genomic organization and partial duplication of the human alpha7 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene (CHRNA7)". Genomics. 52 (2): 173–85. doi:10.1006/geno.1998.5363. PMID9782083.
Freedman R, Leonard S, Gault JM, et al. (2001). "Linkage disequilibrium for schizophrenia at the chromosome 15q13-14 locus of the alpha7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit gene (CHRNA7)". Am. J. Med. Genet. 105 (1): 20–2. doi:10.1002/1096-8628(20010108)105:1<20::AID-AJMG1047>3.0.CO;2-C. PMID11424985.
Trombino S, Cesario A, Margaritora S, et al. (2004). "Alpha7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors affect growth regulation of human mesothelioma cells: role of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway". Cancer Res. 64 (1): 135–45. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-03-1672. PMID14729617.
Bale AS, Meacham CA, Benignus VA, et al. (2005). "Volatile organic compounds inhibit human and rat neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes". Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 205 (1): 77–88. doi:10.1016/j.taap.2004.09.011. PMID15885267.
Zody MC, Garber M, Sharpe T, et al. (2006). "Analysis of the DNA sequence and duplication history of human chromosome 15". Nature. 440 (7084): 671–5. doi:10.1038/nature04601. PMID16572171.
Dempster EL, Toulopoulou T, McDonald C, et al. (2006). "Episodic memory performance predicted by the 2bp deletion in exon 6 of the "alpha 7-like" nicotinic receptor subunit gene". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 163 (10): 1832–4. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.163.10.1832. PMID17012698.