ACTA2
ACTA2 is an actin protein with several aliases including alpha-actin, alpha-actin-2, aortic smooth muscle or alpha smooth muscle actin. Actins are a family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments. ACTA2 is one of 6 different actin isoforms and is involved in the contractile apparatus of smooth muscle. ACTA2 is extremely highly conserved and found in nearly all mammals.
In humans, ACTA2 is encoded by the ACTA2 gene located on 10q22-q24. Mutations in this gene cause a variety of vascular diseases, such as thoracic aortic disease, coronary artery disease, stroke, Moyamoya disease, and multisystemic smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome.
ACTA2 is often used as a marker of myofibroblast formation.
