Biology:CHRNA2

Short description: Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Generic protein structure example

Neuronal acetylcholine receptor subunit alpha-2, also known as nAChRα2, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CHRNA2 gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a subunit of certain nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAchR).

Function

Knockout of this gene in mice potentiates nicotine-modulated behaviors. Using two different genetically modified mutant mouse lines (Chrna2L9'S/L9'S and Chrna2KO), findings highlight that α2* nAChRs influence hippocampus-dependent learning and memory and CA1 synaptic plasticity in adolescent mice.

See also

• Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Further reading

• "Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: from structure to brain function". Rev. Physiol. Biochem. Pharmacol.. Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology 147: 1–46. 2003. doi:10.1007/s10254-003-0005-1. ISBN 978-3-540-01365-5. PMID 12783266. 
• "Identification of the human neuronal nicotinic cholinergic alpha 2 receptor locus, (CHRNA2), within an 8p21 mapped locus, by sequence homology with rat DNA". Somat. Cell Mol. Genet. 21 (2): 147–50. 1995. doi:10.1007/BF02255790. PMID 7570187. 
• "Effects of serotonergic agents on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 92 (7): 2919–23. 1995. doi:10.1073/pnas.92.7.2919. PMID 7708749. Bibcode: 1995PNAS...92.2919G. 
• "Comparative structure of human neuronal alpha 2-alpha 7 and beta 2-beta 4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits and functional expression of the alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 4, alpha 7, beta 2, and beta 4 subunits". J. Mol. Neurosci. 7 (3): 217–28. 1997. doi:10.1007/BF02736842. PMID 8906617. 
• "Pharmacological characterization of recombinant human neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors h alpha 2 beta 2, h alpha 2 beta 4, h alpha 3 beta 2, h alpha 3 beta 4, h alpha 4 beta 2, h alpha 4 beta 4 and h alpha 7 expressed in Xenopus oocytes". J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 280 (1): 346–56. 1997. PMID 8996215. 
• "Expression of the alpha 7 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in normal and myasthenic human thymuses". Cell. Mol. Biol. (Noisy-le-grand) 43 (3): 433–42. 1997. PMID 9193799. 
• "Diversity of mRNA expression for muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes and neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits in human mononuclear leukocytes and leukemic cell lines". Neurosci. Lett. 266 (1): 17–20. 1999. doi:10.1016/S0304-3940(99)00259-1. PMID 10336173. 
• "How mutations in the nAChRs can cause ADNFLE epilepsy". Epilepsia 43 (Suppl 5): 112–22. 2002. doi:10.1046/j.1528-1157.43.s.5.16.x. PMID 12121305. 
• "PCR isolation and cloning of novel splice variant mRNAs from known drug target genes". Genomics 83 (4): 566–71. 2004. doi:10.1016/j.ygeno.2003.09.023. PMID 15028279. 
• "Diversification of transcriptional modulation: Large-scale identification and characterization of putative alternative promoters of human genes". Genome Res. 16 (1): 55–65. 2006. doi:10.1101/gr.4039406. PMID 16344560. 
• "DNA sequence and analysis of human chromosome 8". Nature 439 (7074): 331–5. 2006. doi:10.1038/nature04406. PMID 16421571. Bibcode: 2006Natur.439..331N. 
• "Increased Sensitivity of the Neuronal Nicotinic Receptor α2 Subunit Causes Familial Epilepsy with Nocturnal Wandering and Ictal Fear". Am. J. Hum. Genet. 79 (2): 342–50. 2006. doi:10.1086/506459. PMID 16826524. 

External links

• CHRNA2+protein,+human at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
• Human CHRNA2 genome location and CHRNA2 gene details page in the UCSC Genome Browser.

This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.