G Protein Alpha 13 (GNa13)

The GNA13 is 97% homologous to the mouse Gna13 protein. It contains the highly conserved motifs found in all G protein alpha subunits that are thought to be directly involved in the interaction with the guanine nucleotide. GNA13 is expressed as a major 4.8-kb and a minor 5.3-kb transcript in Jurkat and HPB-ALL leukemic T-cell lines.lack of G-alpha-13, but not G-alpha-12, severely reduced the potency of thrombin, thromboxane A2, and collagen to induce platelet shape changes and aggregation in vitro. These defects were accompanied by a reduced activation of RhoA and inability to form stable platelet thrombi under high shear stress ex vivo. G-alpha-13 deficiency in platelets resulted in a severe defect of primary hemostasis and complete protection against arterial thrombosis in vivo.