ITGA7

Alpha-7 integrin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ITGA7 gene. Alpha-7 integrin is critical for modulating cell-matrix interactions. Alpha-7 integrin is highly expressed in cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle and smooth muscle cells, and localizes to Z-disc and costamere structures. Mutations in ITGA7 have been associated with congenital myopathies and noncompaction cardiomyopathy, and altered expression levels of alpha-7 integrin have been identified in various forms of muscular dystrophy.

Structure

ITGA7 encodes the protein alpha-7 integrin. Alpha-7 integrin is 128.9 kDa in molecular weight and 1181 amino acids in length.Integrins are heterodimeric integral membrane proteins composed of an alpha chain and a beta chain. Alpha-7 integrin undergoes post-translational cleavage within the extracellular domain to yield disulfide-linked light and heavy chains that join with beta 1 to form an integrin that binds to the extracellular matrix protein laminin-1. The primary binding partners of alpha-7 integrin are laminin-1 (alpha1-beta1-gamma1), laminin-2 (alpha2-beta1-gamma1) and laminin-4 (alpha2-beta2-gamma1). Alpha-7/beta-1 is the major integrin complex expressed in differentiated muscle cells.