# NACA

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

## TL;DR

NACA (Nascent polypeptide-associated complex subunit alpha, muscle-specific form) is a gene that drives cell growth when it is altered. The public catalogues list it as an oncogene driver, and it is called a cancer driver by mutation analysis of patient cohorts. Tied to Bladder & urothelial cancer, Melanoma and Basal cell carcinoma.

## Summary

Cardiac- and muscle-specific transcription factor. May act to regulate the expression of genes involved in the development of myotubes. Plays a critical role in ventricular cardiomyocyte expansion and regulates postnatal skeletal muscle growth and regeneration.

IntOGen calls it a driver in 4 cohorts (2 activating, 0 loss-of-function), covering Basal Cell Carcinoma, Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma, Melanoma.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: nascent polypeptide associated complex subunit alpha; Nascent polypeptide-associated complex subunit alpha, muscle-specific form; NACA1; Alpha-NAC
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: NACA
- Class: oncogene
- Biology: Cardiac- and muscle-specific transcription factor. May act to regulate the expression of genes involved in the development of myotubes. Plays a critical role in ventricular cardiomyocyte expansion and regulates postnatal skeletal muscle growth and regeneration. Involved in the organised assembly of thick and thin filaments of myofibril sarcomeres. Location: Cytoplasm; Nucleus (UniProt). Locus 12q13.3 (HGNC).
- Where found: Bladder & urothelial cancer: IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (BLCA); Melanoma: IntOGen driver in 2 cohorts (MEL); Basal cell carcinoma: IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (BCC)

## 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: IntOGen calls it an activating (Act) driver in 2 cohorts. Evidence tier "cohort-driver" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:7629: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:7629
- UniProt E9PAV3: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/E9PAV3/entry
- NCBI Gene 4666: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/4666
- Ensembl ENSG00000196531: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000196531

## Connected records

- collections: [IntOGen](https://onco.cc/collections/intogen/)
- cancers: [Basal cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/basal-cell-carcinoma/), [Bladder & urothelial cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/urothelial/), [Melanoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/melanoma/)

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