CHRFAM7A

CHRNA7-FAM7A fusion protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CHRFAM7A gene.^[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]