CHRNA6

CHRNA6
Identifiers
Aliases	CHRNA6, CHNRA6, cholinergic receptor nicotinic alpha 6 subunit
External IDs	OMIM: 606888; MGI: 106213; HomoloGene: 20888; GeneCards: CHRNA6; OMA:CHRNA6 - orthologs
Gene location (Human)
Chr.	Chromosome 8 (human)
End	42,796,392 bp
Gene location (Mouse)
Chr.	Chromosome 8 (mouse)
End	27,903,972 bp
RNA expression pattern
	Top expressed in
	testicle; ; tibialis anterior muscle; ; mucosa of ileum; ; gonad; ; cerebellar cortex; ; deltoid muscle; ; cerebellar hemisphere; ; prefrontal cortex; ; right hemisphere of cerebellum; ; substantia nigra;
	Top expressed in
	lumbar spinal ganglion; ; neural layer of retina; ; substantia nigra; ; ventral tegmental area; ; blastocyst; ; central gray substance of midbrain; ; Ileal epithelium; ; superior colliculus; ; pituitary gland; ; embryo;
	More reference expression data
	More reference expression data
Gene ontology
Molecular function	acetylcholine binding; acetylcholine receptor activity; ion channel activity; extracellular ligand-gated ion channel activity; ligand-gated ion channel activity; protein binding; acetylcholine-gated cation-selective channel activity; transmembrane signaling receptor activity;
Cellular component	integral component of membrane; postsynaptic membrane; membrane; synapse; cell junction; plasma membrane; acetylcholine-gated channel complex; dopaminergic synapse; integral component of postsynaptic membrane; integral component of presynaptic membrane; integral component of plasma membrane; neuron projection;
Biological process	regulation of dopamine secretion; response to nicotine; membrane depolarization; synaptic transmission, cholinergic; ion transport; neuromuscular synaptic transmission; signal transduction; chemical synaptic transmission; regulation of postsynaptic membrane potential; excitatory postsynaptic potential; cation transmembrane transport; ion transmembrane transport; regulation of synaptic vesicle exocytosis; regulation of membrane potential; nervous system process;
	Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
	8973
	11440
	ENSG00000147434
	ENSMUSG00000031491
	Q15825
	Q9R0W9
	NM_004198; NM_001199279
	NM_021369
	NP_001186208; NP_004189
	NP_067344
	Wikidata
View/Edit Human	View/Edit Mouse

Cholinergic receptor, nicotinic, alpha 6, also known as nAChRα6, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CHRNA6 gene. The CHRNA6 gene codes for the α6 nicotinic receptor subunit that is found in certain types of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors found primarily in the brain. Neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors containing α6 subunits are expressed on dopamine-releasing neurons in the midbrain, and dopamine release following activation of these neurons is thought to be involved in the addictive properties of nicotine. Due to their selective localisation on dopaminergic neurons, α6-containing nACh receptors have also been suggested as a possible therapeutic target for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. In addition to nicotine, research in animals has implicated alpha-6-containing nAChRs in the abusive and addictive properties of ethanol, with mecamylamine demonstrating a potent ability to block these properties.