Sodium/potassium-transporting ATPase subunit alpha-2

ATP1A2 encodes the alpha-2 subunit of the sodium/potassium-transporting ATPase, a catalytic component that hydrolyzes ATP and exchanges sodium and potassium ions across the plasma membrane. This ion exchange establishes the electrochemical gradient essential for active nutrient transport and cellular excitability (UniProt: P50993).

The protein is widely expressed and maintains critical functions in neuronal and glial physiology. UniProt documents ATP1A2 associations with several neurological conditions, including familial hemiplegic migraine type 2 (FHM2), alternating hemiplegia of childhood 1 (AHC1), and developmental and epileptic encephalopathy 98 (DEE98), all linked to ATP1A2 mutations that disrupt ion homeostasis and neuronal function.

ATP1A2 is tagged for Alzheimer's Disease relevance in this dataset. Chaparral AD proteomics data indicate upregulation in human post-mortem AD brain tissue compared to age-matched controls, with a mean log2 fold-change of 0.87 across examined subcellular fractions. This elevation may reflect compensatory responses to neuronal dysfunction or altered ion homeostasis characteristic of AD neuropathology.