ATRN Gene

Name	attractin
Description	This gene encodes both membrane-bound and secreted protein isoforms. A membrane-bound isoform exhibits sequence similarity with the mouse mahogany protein, a receptor involved in controlling obesity. A secreted isoform is involved in the initial immune cell clustering during inflammatory responses that may regulate the chemotactic activity of chemokines. [provided by RefSeq, Apr 2016]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Attractin (ATRN) is a multifunctional transmembrane protein that contributes to a diverse array of physiological processes. In mammals, ATRN plays a key role in modulating melanocortin receptor signaling, acting together with agouti‐signaling protein (ASIP) to regulate pigment‐type switching and influence coat color as well as human pigmentary phenotypes—with genetic associations also linking ATRN variation to altered skin cancer risk (see."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In addition, ATRN is essential for neuronal homeostasis; loss‐of‐function mutations lead to spongiform neurodegeneration and other neuropathological changes that appear to arise from defects in receptor trafficking and the regulation of protein turnover (see."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "6", "end_ref": "8"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " ATRN has further been implicated in central nervous system disorders such as restless legs syndrome."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "9"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Beyond its roles in pigmentation and neural integrity, ATRN also influences reproductive functions. Studies in mice show that ATRN is expressed in testicular tissue and its deficiency leads to progressive vacuolation of the testes, impaired sperm function, and disrupted extracellular proteoglycan deposition—findings that point to a role in secretory vesicle trafficking and cell–cell interactions within the reproductive tract (see."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "10", "end_ref": "12"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, in invertebrates such as the mollusc Aplysia, a secreted isoform of attractin has been identified as a peptide pheromone that modulates social aggregation during reproduction."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "13"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Collectively, these findings underscore the evolutionary conservation and versatility of ATRN. Whether acting as a mediator of melanocortin signaling to influence pigmentation and energy homeostasis, serving to maintain neuronal viability through regulated protein and receptor trafficking, or ensuring normal reproductive function via effects on extracellular matrix deposition and cell signaling, ATRN is emerging as a key regulator in intercellular communication and tissue homeostasis.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "D L Nagle, S H McGrail, J Vitale, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The mahogany protein is a receptor involved in suppression of obesity."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nature (1999)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/18210"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/18210"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10086355"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10086355"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "W Tang, T M Gunn, D F McLaughlin, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Secreted and membrane attractin result from alternative splicing of the human ATRN gene."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2000)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1073/pnas.110139897"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.110139897"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10811918"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10811918"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Tokimasa Hida, Kazumasa Wakamatsu, Elena V Sviderskaya, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Agouti protein, mahogunin, and attractin in pheomelanogenesis and melanoblast-like alteration of melanocytes: a cAMP-independent pathway."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Pigment Cell Melanoma Res (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1111/j.1755-148X.2009.00582.x"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-148X.2009.00582.x"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19493315"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19493315"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hongmei Nan, Peter Kraft, David J Hunter, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Genetic variants in pigmentation genes, pigmentary phenotypes, and risk of skin cancer in Caucasians."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Int J Cancer (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/ijc.24327"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.24327"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19384953"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19384953"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "John D Overton, Rudolph L Leibel "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mahoganoid and mahogany mutations rectify the obesity of the yellow mouse by effects on endosomal traffic of MC4R protein."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2011)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M111.224592"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M111.224592"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "21460229"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21460229"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lin He, Xin-Yun Lu, Aaron F Jolly, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Spongiform degeneration in mahoganoid mutant mice."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Science (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1126/science.1079694"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1079694"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12560552"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12560552"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Kaihua Sun, Brian S Johnson, Teresa M Gunn "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mitochondrial dysfunction precedes neurodegeneration in mahogunin (Mgrn1) mutant mice."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Neurobiol Aging (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.07.012"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.07.012"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17720281"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17720281"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Christina D Cota, Roy R Liu, Theresa M Sumberac, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Genetic and phenotypic studies of the dark-like mutant mouse."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Genesis (2008)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/dvg.20432"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/dvg.20432"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "18821597"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18821597"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Anne Weissbach, Katharina Siegesmund, Norbert Brüggemann, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Exome sequencing in a family with restless legs syndrome."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mov Disord (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/mds.25191"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.25191"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23192925"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23192925"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jie Li, Shiqi Wang, Shiyun Huang, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Attractin gene deficiency contributes to testis vacuolization and sperm dysfunction in male mice."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Huazhong Univ Sci Technolog Med Sci (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1007/s11596-009-0616-0"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-009-0616-0"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20037821"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20037821"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Dan Cheng, Yu Ming, Jie Li, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Expression of Attractin in male reproductive tract of human and mice and its correlation with male reproduction."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Huazhong Univ Sci Technolog Med Sci (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1007/s11596-014-1346-5"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-014-1346-5"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25318887"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25318887"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 12, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Abdallah Azouz, Jonathan S Duke-Cohan "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Post-developmental extracellular proteoglycan maintenance in attractin-deficient mice."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "BMC Res Notes (2020)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1186/s13104-020-05130-1"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-020-05130-1"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "32580758"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32580758"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 13, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "S D Painter, B Clough, R W Garden, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Characterization of Aplysia attractin, the first water-borne peptide pheromone in invertebrates."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biol Bull (1998)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.2307/1543042"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.2307/1543042"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "9604313"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9604313"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	DPPT-L, MGCA
Proteins	ATRN_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	8455
API
Download Associations
Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

ATRN has 6,290 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 114 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for ATRN from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

ATRN Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ATRN gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of ATRN gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of ATRN gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of ATRN gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of ATRN gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ATRN gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of ATRN gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of ATRN gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of ATRN gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of ATRN gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of ATRN gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with ATRN protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with ATRN gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ATRN gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of ATRN gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of ATRN gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies	assemblies containing ATRN protein from integrated AP-MS and IF data from the CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of ATRN gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing ATRN protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing ATRN protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with ATRN protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with ATRN protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of ATRN gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with ATRN gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with ATRN gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ATRN gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations	traits associated with ATRN gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of ATRN protein relative to other small molecule perturbations from the DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by ATRN gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with ATRN gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with ATRN gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with ATRN gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ATRN gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with ATRN gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at ATRN gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of ATRN gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of ATRN gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing ATRN from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ATRN gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with ATRN gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.