| Name | GDNF family receptor alpha like |
| Description | Enables glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor receptor activity and receptor tyrosine kinase binding activity. Involved in GDF15-GFRAL signaling pathway; positive regulation of MAPK cascade; and positive regulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B signal transduction. Located in several cellular components, including actin cytoskeleton; focal adhesion; and nucleoplasm. [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Mar 2025] |
| Summary |
{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n GFRAL is a receptor uniquely expressed in the brainstem—specifically in the area postrema and nucleus tractus solitarius—that binds growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) to mediate non‐homeostatic responses to stress. Activation of GFRAL by GDF15 triggers signaling pathways that suppress appetite and reduce body weight during conditions of metabolic stress, toxin exposure, or inflammation."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Both pharmacological administration of recombinant GDF15 and genetic manipulation approaches have confirmed that the GDF15–GFRAL axis is critical for the anorectic and weight‐reducing effects observed in experimental models. These studies highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting this pathway for conditions ranging from obesity and metabolic disorders to cancer‐associated cachexia, while also underlining the complexity of physiological versus pharmacological activation of GFRAL. \n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jer-Yuan Hsu, Suzanne Crawley, Michael Chen, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Non-homeostatic body weight regulation through a brainstem-restricted receptor for GDF15."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nature (2017)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/nature24042"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature24042"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "28953886"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28953886"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Anders B Klein, Trine S Nicolaisen, Niels Ørtenblad, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Pharmacological but not physiological GDF15 suppresses feeding and the motivation to exercise."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nat Commun (2021)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/s41467-021-21309-x"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21309-x"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "33589633"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33589633"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Vicky Wang-Wei Tsai, Hong Ping Zhang, Rakesh Manandhar, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "GDF15 mediates adiposity resistance through actions on GFRAL neurons in the hindbrain AP/NTS."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Int J Obes (Lond) (2019)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/s41366-019-0365-5"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-019-0365-5"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "31152154"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31152154"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Amy A Worth, Rosemary Shoop, Katie Tye, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The cytokine GDF15 signals through a population of brainstem cholecystokinin neurons to mediate anorectic signalling."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Elife (2020)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.7554/eLife.55164"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.55164"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "32723474"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32723474"}]}]}]}
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| Synonyms | C6ORF144, GRAL, UNQ9356, BA360D14.1 |
| Proteins | GFRAL_HUMAN |
| NCBI Gene ID | 389400 |
| API | |
| Download Associations | |
| Predicted Functions |
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| Co-expressed Genes |
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| Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines |
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GFRAL has 2,150 functional associations with biological entities spanning 8 categories (molecular profile, organism, functional term, phrase or reference, chemical, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 66 datasets.
Click the + buttons to view associations for GFRAL from the datasets below.
If available, associations are ranked by standardized value
| Dataset | Summary | |
|---|---|---|
| Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles | tissues with high or low expression of GFRAL gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles | tissues with high or low expression of GFRAL gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse 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 GFRAL 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 GFRAL gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset. | |
| Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles | tissues with high or low expression of GFRAL gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles | cell types and tissues with high or low expression of GFRAL gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles | cell lines with high or low copy number of GFRAL gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset. | |
| ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles | transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of GFRAL gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset. | |
| ChEA Transcription Factor Targets | transcription factors binding the promoter of GFRAL 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 GFRAL gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset. | |
| CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas | gene perturbations changing expression of GFRAL gene from the CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas dataset. | |
| COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores | cellular components containing GFRAL protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset. | |
| COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 | cellular components containing GFRAL protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
| COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 | cellular components co-occuring with GFRAL 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 GFRAL gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset. | |
| COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles | cell lines with GFRAL gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset. | |
| DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency | cell lines with fitness changed by GFRAL gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset. | |
| DGIdb Drug Targets 2026 | interacting drugs for GFRAL protein from the DGIdb Drug Targets 2026 dataset. | |
| DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores | diseases co-occuring with GFRAL 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 GFRAL 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 GFRAL gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset. | |
| DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations | phenotypes associated with GFRAL 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 GFRAL 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 GFRAL gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset. | |
| ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets | transcription factors binding the promoter of GFRAL gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset. | |
| GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures | PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing GFRAL from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset. | |
| GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations | gene perturbations changing expression of GFRAL gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset. | |
| GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Kinase Perturbations | kinase perturbations changing expression of GFRAL gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Kinase Perturbations dataset. | |
| GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules | small molecule perturbations changing expression of GFRAL gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset. | |
| GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Viral Infections | virus perturbations changing expression of GFRAL gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Viral Infections dataset. | |
| GO Biological Process Annotations 2015 | biological processes involving GFRAL gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations 2015 dataset. | |
| GO Biological Process Annotations 2023 | biological processes involving GFRAL gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations 2023 dataset. | |
| GO Biological Process Annotations 2025 | biological processes involving GFRAL gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations2025 dataset. | |
| GO Cellular Component Annotations 2015 | cellular components containing GFRAL protein from the curated GO Cellular Component Annotations 2015 dataset. | |
| GO Cellular Component Annotations 2023 | cellular components containing GFRAL protein from the curated GO Cellular Component Annotations 2023 dataset. | |
| GO Cellular Component Annotations 2025 | cellular components containing GFRAL protein from the curated GO Cellular Component Annotations 2025 dataset. | |
| GO Molecular Function Annotations 2023 | molecular functions performed by GFRAL gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2023 dataset. | |
| GO Molecular Function Annotations 2025 | molecular functions performed by GFRAL gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2025 dataset. | |
| GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles | tissues with high or low expression of GFRAL gene relative to other tissues from the GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles 2023 | tissues with high or low expression of GFRAL gene relative to other tissues from the GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles 2023 dataset. | |
| GWAS Catalog SNP-Phenotype Associations 2025 | phenotypes associated with GFRAL gene in GWAS datasets from the GWAS Catalog SNP-Phenotype Associations 2025 dataset. | |
| GWASdb SNP-Disease Associations | diseases associated with GFRAL gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GWASdb SNP-Disease Associations dataset. | |
| GWASdb SNP-Phenotype Associations | phenotypes associated with GFRAL gene in GWAS datasets from the GWASdb SNP-Phenotype Associations dataset. | |
| Heiser et al., PNAS, 2011 Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles | cell lines with high or low expression of GFRAL gene relative to other cell lines from the Heiser et al., PNAS, 2011 Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| HPA Tissue Protein Expression Profiles | tissues with high or low expression of GFRAL protein relative to other tissues from the HPA Tissue Protein Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| InterPro Predicted Protein Domain Annotations | protein domains predicted for GFRAL protein from the InterPro Predicted Protein Domain Annotations dataset. | |
| JASPAR Predicted Human Transcription Factor Targets 2025 | transcription factors regulating expression of GFRAL gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Human Transcription Factor Targets dataset. | |
| JASPAR Predicted Mouse Transcription Factor Targets 2025 | transcription factors regulating expression of GFRAL gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Mouse Transcription Factor Targets 2025 dataset. | |
| JASPAR Predicted Transcription Factor Targets | transcription factors regulating expression of GFRAL gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Transcription Factor Targets dataset. | |
| Klijn et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 2015 Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles | cell lines with high or low copy number of GFRAL gene relative to other cell lines from the Klijn et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 2015 Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset. | |
| KnockTF Gene Expression Profiles with Transcription Factor Perturbations | transcription factor perturbations changing expression of GFRAL gene from the KnockTF Gene Expression Profiles with Transcription Factor Perturbations dataset. | |
| LOCATE Predicted Protein Localization Annotations | cellular components predicted to contain GFRAL protein from the LOCATE Predicted Protein Localization Annotations dataset. | |
| MGI Mouse Phenotype Associations 2023 | phenotypes of transgenic mice caused by GFRAL gene mutations from the MGI Mouse Phenotype Associations 2023 dataset. | |
| MotifMap Predicted Transcription Factor Targets | transcription factors regulating expression of GFRAL gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the MotifMap Predicted Transcription Factor Targets dataset. | |
| PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2023 | pathways involving GFRAL protein from the PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2023 dataset. | |
| PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2024 | pathways involving GFRAL protein from the Wikipathways PFOCR 2024 dataset. | |
| Roadmap Epigenomics Histone Modification Site Profiles | histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at GFRAL gene from the Roadmap Epigenomics Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset. | |
| Rummagene Transcription Factor Associations 2026 | transcription factors regulating expression of GFRAL gene from the Rummagene Transcription Factor Associations 2026 dataset. | |
| RummaGEO Drug Perturbation Signatures | drug perturbations changing expression of GFRAL gene from the RummaGEO Drug Perturbation Signatures dataset. | |
| RummaGEO Gene Perturbation Signatures | gene perturbations changing expression of GFRAL gene from the RummaGEO Gene Perturbation Signatures dataset. | |
| TargetScan Predicted Conserved microRNA Targets | microRNAs regulating expression of GFRAL gene predicted using conserved miRNA seed sequences from the TargetScan Predicted Conserved microRNA Targets dataset. | |
| TargetScan Predicted Nonconserved microRNA Targets | microRNAs regulating expression of GFRAL gene predicted using nonconserved miRNA seed sequences from the TargetScan Predicted Nonconserved microRNA Targets dataset. | |
| TCGA Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Tumors | tissue samples with high or low expression of GFRAL gene relative to other tissue samples from the TCGA Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Tumors dataset. | |
| TISSUES Experimental Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 | tissues with high expression of GFRAL protein in proteomics datasets from the TISSUES Experimental Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
| TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores | tissues co-occuring with GFRAL protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores dataset. | |
| TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 | tissues co-occuring with GFRAL protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
