Cholinergic Receptor, Nicotinic, Alpha 6 (CHRNa6)

Cholinergic receptor, nicotinic, alpha 6, codes for the α6 subunit 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.The deduced 464-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 53.7 kD and contains a signal peptide, 2 N-glycosylation sites, and 4 transmembrane regions. The human and rat proteins share 87% sequence identity.