Ephrin Type A Receptor 6 (EPHA6)

Analysis of Ehk1 cDNAs from various brain libraries demonstrated that alternatively spliced transcripts can encode 5 different forms of Ehk1 transmembrane protein. In contrast, analysis of Ehk2 cDNAs revealed that they encode only a single form of protein.

The structure of Ehk2 differed from all known members of the Eph family by having a 42-amino acid insert positioned between homology regions IV and V in the kinase domain. Ehk1 and Ehk2 are expressed almost exclusively in the nervous system. RNA in situ hybridization analyses on adult brain showed that the Ehk mRNAs are predominantly expressed in neurons and display overlapping, but distinct, patterns of expression in various neuronal populations.