Alternative titles; symbols
HGNC Approved Gene Symbol: EPHA6
Cytogenetic location: 3q11.2 Genomic coordinates (GRCh38): 3:96,814,594-97,761,532 (from NCBI)
See 179610 for background on Eph receptors and their ligands, the ephrins. Maisonpierre et al. (1993) identified 2 novel members of the Eph family of receptor tyrosine kinases in rat and named them 'EPH homology kinase' (Ehk)-1 (600004) and -2. Analysis of Ehk1 cDNAs from various brain libraries demonstrated that alternatively spliced transcripts can encode 5 different forms of Ehk1 transmembrane protein. In contrast, analysis of Ehk2 cDNAs revealed that they encode only a single form of protein. The structure of Ehk2 differed from all known members of the Eph family by having a 42-amino acid insert positioned between homology regions IV and V in the kinase domain. Ehk1 and Ehk2 are expressed almost exclusively in the nervous system. RNA in situ hybridization analyses on adult brain showed that the Ehk mRNAs are predominantly expressed in neurons and display overlapping, but distinct, patterns of expression in various neuronal populations.
Maisonpierre, P. C., Barrezueta, N. X., Yancopoulos, G. D. Ehk-1 and Ehk-2: two novel members of the Eph-receptor-like tyrosine family with distinctive structures and neuronal expression. Oncogene 8: 3277-3288, 1993. [PubMed: 7504232]