CHRNA7-FAM7A fusion protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CHRFAM7Agene.[5][6]
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.[6]
CHRFAM7A has not been found in nonhuman primates, and its occurrence in individuals of African descent is significantly lower than in Caucasian populations.[7]
^"Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
^"Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
^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.
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.