The activin A receptor also known as ACVR1C or ALK-7 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ACVR1C gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

. ACVR1C is a type I receptor for the TGFB family of signaling molecules. Upon ligand binding, type I receptors phosphorylate

Phosphorylation

Phosphorylation is the addition of a phosphate group to a protein or other organic molecule. Phosphorylation activates or deactivates many protein enzymes....

 cytoplasmic SMAD

SMAD (protein)

SMADs are intracellular proteins that transduce extracellular signals from transforming growth factor beta ligands to the nucleus where they activate downstream TGF-β gene transcription....

 family transcription factor

Transcription factor

In molecular biology and genetics, a transcription factor is a protein that binds to specific DNA sequences, thereby controlling the flow of genetic information from DNA to mRNA...

s, which then translocate to the nucleus and interact directly with DNA or in complex with other transcription factors.

ACVR1C transduces signals of Nodal. Nodal binds to ACVR2B

ACVR2B

Activin receptor type-2B is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ACVR2B gene. ACVR2B is an activin type 2 receptor.-Interactions:ACVR2B has been shown to interact with SYNJ2BP and ACVR1B.-Further reading:...

 and then forms a comlex with ACR1C. These go on to recruit the R-SMAD

R-SMAD

R-SMAD stands for receptor-regulated SMAD. Smads are transcription factors that transduce extracellular TGF-ß superfamily ligand signaling from cell membrane bound TGF-ß receptors into the nucleus where they activate transcription TGF-ß target genes...

s SMAD2 or SMAD3.