Chrne - cholinergic receptor, nicotinic, epsilon polypeptide

This gene encodes the epsilon subunit of the muscle-derived nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, a pentameric neurotransmitter receptor and member of the ligand-gated ion channel superfamily. The acetylcholine receptor changes subunit composition shortly after birth when the epsilon subunit replaces the gamma subunit seen in embryonic receptors. In mice, deficiency of this gene can lead to a decline in the number of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors at neuromuscular junctions and causes progressive muscle weakness, atrophy and premature death. Mutations in this gene serve as a pathophysiological model for human congenital myasthenia. Several alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene have been described, but their full-length nature is not known. [provided by RefSeq, Nov 2012]