Ephrin A1 is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''EFNA1''

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

. This gene encodes a member of the

ephrin Ephrins (also known as ephrin ligands or Eph family receptor interacting proteins) are a family of proteins that serve as the ligands of the Eph receptor. Eph receptors in turn compose the largest known subfamily of receptor protein-tyrosine ki ...

(EPH) family. The ephrins and EPH-related receptors comprise the largest subfamily of

receptor protein-tyrosine kinases Receptor may refer to: *Sensory receptor, in physiology, any neurite structure that, on receiving environmental stimuli, produces an informative nerve impulse *Receptor (biochemistry), in biochemistry, a protein molecule that receives and responds ...

and have been implicated in mediating developmental events, especially in the

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...

and in

erythropoiesis Erythropoiesis (from Greek ''erythro'', meaning ''red'' and ''poiesis'', meaning ''to make'') is the process which produces red blood cells (erythrocytes), which is the development from erythropoietic stem cell to mature red blood cell. It is s ...

. Based on their structures and sequence relationships, ephrins are divided into the ephrin-A (EFNA) class, which are anchored to the

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Bi ...

by a

glycosylphosphatidylinositol Glycosylphosphatidylinositol () or glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) is a phosphoglyceride that can be attached to the C-terminus of a protein during posttranslational modification. The resulting GPI-anchored proteins play key roles in a wide vari ...

linkage, and the ephrin-B (EFNB) class, which are

transmembrane proteins A transmembrane protein is a type of integral membrane protein that spans the entirety of the cell membrane. Many transmembrane proteins function as gateways to permit the transport of specific substances across the membrane. They frequently un ...

. This gene encodes an EFNA class ephrin which binds to the

EPHA2 EPH receptor A2 (ephrin type-A receptor 2) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''EPHA2'' gene. Function This gene belongs to the ephrin receptor subfamily of the protein-tyrosine kinase family. EPH and EPH-related receptors have be ...

EPHA4 EPH receptor A4 (ephrin type-A receptor 4) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''EPHA4'' gene. This gene belongs to the ephrin receptor subfamily of the protein-tyrosine kinase family. EPH and EPH-related receptors have been implicate ...

EPHA5 EPH receptor A5 (ephrin type-A receptor 5) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''EPHA5'' gene. This gene belongs to the ephrin receptor subfamily of the protein-tyrosine kinase family. EPH and EPH-related receptors have been implicate ...

EPHA6 Ephrin type-A receptor 6 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''EPHA6'' gene. EphA6 may serve an important role in breast carcinogenesis and may pose as a novel prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for breast cancer Brea ...

, and

EPHA7 Ephrin type-A receptor 7 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''EPHA7'' gene. This gene belongs to the ephrin receptor subfamily of the protein-tyrosine kinase family. EPH and EPH-related receptors have been implicated in mediating dev ...

receptors. Two transcript variants that encode different isoforms were identified through sequence analysis.

References

Further reading