# SCN7A

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/scn7a/  
OnCo record `scn7a` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

SCN7A (Sodium channel protein type 7 subunit alpha) is a gene. The public catalogues list it as a drug target, and an approved or late-stage drug is recorded against it.

## Summary

Sodium leak channel functioning as an osmosensor regulating sodium ion levels in various tissues and organs. While most sodium channels are voltage-gated, SCN7A is not and lets sodium flow through membrane along its concentration gradient. In glial cells of the central nervous system, senses body-fluid sodium levels and controls salt intake behaviour as well as voluntary water intake through activation of nearby neurons to maintain appropriate sodium levels in the body.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.54 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.70, genetic association 0.00, clinical 0.86).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 7; Sodium channel protein type 7 subunit alpha; Nav2.1; Nav2.2; NaG; SCN6A
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: SCN7A
- Class: other
- Biology: Sodium leak channel functioning as an osmosensor regulating sodium ion levels in various tissues and organs. While most sodium channels are voltage-gated, SCN7A is not and lets sodium flow through membrane along its concentration gradient. In glial cells of the central nervous system, senses body-fluid sodium levels and controls salt intake behaviour as well as voluntary water intake through activation of nearby neurons to maintain appropriate sodium levels in the body. By mediating sodium influx into keratinocytes, also plays a role in skin barrier homeostasis. Location: Cell membrane (UniProt). Locus 2q24.3 (HGNC).

## 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 0.86. Evidence tier "approved-drug" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:10594: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:10594
- UniProt Q01118: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q01118/entry
- NCBI Gene 6332: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/6332
- Ensembl ENSG00000136546: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000136546

## Connected records

- collections: [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/scn7a.json