Overview:

TRKA is a member of the TRK proto-oncogene family and encodes a 140-kilodalton, membrane-spanning protein tyrosine kinase that is the functional receptor for nerve growth factor (NGF). NGF elicits the rapid phosphorylation of gp140TRK on tyrosine residues leading to increased c-Fos expression, DNA synthesis and morphologic transformation (1). A decreased expression of TRKA on the striatal cholinergic neurons has been observed which may contribute, when it reaches a crucial threshold, to the death of cholinergic neurons observed in Alzheimer disease (2).

References:

1. Kaplan, D R. et al: The trk proto-oncogene product: a signal transducing receptor for nerve growth factor. Science. 1991 Apr 26;252(5005):554-8.2. Boissiere, F. et al: Neurotrophin receptors and selective loss of cholinergic neurons in Alzheimer disease. Mol Chem Neuropathol. 1996 May-Aug;28(1-3):219-23.