PDGFRA(Platelet-derived growth factor receptor, alpha), also called PDGFR2, encodes a cell surface tyrosine kinase receptor for members of the platelet-derived growth factor family. The PDGFA gene is mapped on 4q12. The PDGFRA-FIP1L1 gene is a constitutively activated tyrosine kinase that transforms hematopoietic cells and is a therapeutic target of imatinib. The PDGFRA gene contains 23 exons spanning about 65 kb. Using the human PDGFRA promoter linked to a luciferase reporter, Joosten et al. showed that PAX1 acts as a transcriptional activator of the PDGFRA gene in differentiated human embryonal carcinoma cells. PDGFRA is responsible for mediating cellular contraction of multiple growth factors: TGFB1 and members of the PDGF family. Lei et al. noted that in the rabbit model of the disease, PDGFRA is dramatically more capable of promoting PVR than is the closely related PDGFRB. PDGFRA is a critical receptor required for human CMV infection, and thus a target for novel antiviral therapies.