# CHRNA4

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/chrna4/  
OnCo record `chrna4` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

CHRNA4 (Neuronal acetylcholine receptor subunit alpha-4) is a gene. The public catalogues list it as a drug target, and clinical evidence ties its variants to diagnosis, prognosis or drug response. Tied to Lung cancer.

## Summary

Component of neuronal acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) that function as pentameric, ligand-gated cation channels with high calcium permeability among other activities. nAChRs are excitatory neurotrasnmitter receptors formed by a collection of nAChR subunits known to mediate synaptic transmission in the nervous system and the neuromuscular junction. Each nAchR subunit confers differential attributes to channel properties, including activation, deactivation and desensitisation kinetics, pH sensitivity, cation permeability, and binding to allosteric modulators. CHRNA4 forms heteropentameric neuronal acetylcholine receptors with CHRNB2 and CHRNB4, as well as CHRNA5 and CHRNB3 as accesory subunits.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.55 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.68, genetic association 0.60, clinical 0.55).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: cholinergic receptor nicotinic alpha 4 subunit; Neuronal acetylcholine receptor subunit alpha-4; EBN1
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: CHRNA4
- Class: other
- Biology: Component of neuronal acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) that function as pentameric, ligand-gated cation channels with high calcium permeability among other activities. nAChRs are excitatory neurotrasnmitter receptors formed by a collection of nAChR subunits known to mediate synaptic transmission in the nervous system and the neuromuscular junction. Each nAchR subunit confers differential attributes to channel properties, including activation, deactivation and desensitisation kinetics, pH sensitivity, cation permeability, and binding to allosteric modulators. CHRNA4 forms heteropentameric neuronal acetylcholine receptors with CHRNB2 and CHRNB4, as well as CHRNA5 and CHRNB3 as accesory subunits. Is the most abundant nAChR subtype expressed in the central nervous system. Found in two major stoichiometric forms,(CHRNA4)3:(CHRNB2)2 and (CHRNA4)2:(CHRNB2)3, the two stoichiometric forms differ in their unitary conductance, calcium permeability, ACh sensitivity and potentiation by divalent cation. Involved in the modulation of calcium-dependent signalling pathways, influences the release of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, glutamate and GABA. Location: Synaptic cell membrane; Cell membrane (UniProt). Locus 20q13.33 (HGNC).
- Where found: Lung cancer: Open Targets association 0.51 with lung cancer (MONDO_0008903)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: Open Targets known-drug datatype score 0.55. Evidence tier "clinical-evidence" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:1958: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:1958
- UniProt P43681: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P43681/entry
- NCBI Gene 1137: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/1137
- Ensembl ENSG00000101204: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000101204

## Connected records

- collections: [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)
- cancers: [Lung cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-cancer/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/chrna4.json