Ephrin A1 is aprotein that in humans is encoded by theEFNA1gene.[5][6][7]
This gene encodes a member of theephrin (EPH) family. The ephrins and EPH-related receptors comprise the largest subfamily ofreceptor protein-tyrosine kinases and have been implicated in mediating developmental events, especially in thenervous system and inerythropoiesis. Based on their structures and sequence relationships, ephrins are divided into the ephrin-A (EFNA) class, which are anchored to themembrane by aglycosylphosphatidylinositol linkage, and the ephrin-B (EFNB) class, which aretransmembrane proteins. This gene encodes an EFNA class ephrin which binds to theEPHA2,EPHA4,EPHA5,EPHA6, andEPHA7 receptors. Two transcript variants that encode different isoforms were identified through sequence analysis.[7]
