Background
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. Alpha chain 5 undergoes post-translational cleavage in the extracellular domain to yield disulfide-linked 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 signalling.