Itga5 - integrin alpha 5 (fibronectin receptor alpha)

The product of this gene belongs to the integrin alpha chain family. Integrins are heterodimeric integral membrane proteins composed of an alpha chain and a beta chain. This gene encodes the integrin alpha 5 chain, which is proteolytically processed to generate light and heavy chains that join with beta 1 to form a fibronectin receptor. In addition to adhesion, integrins are known to participate in cell-surface mediated signaling. Integrin alpha 5 and integrin alpha V chains are produced by distinct genes. Homozygous knockout mice for this gene exhibit embryonic lethality. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2015]