Q53H12

AGK also known as MULK is a 422 amino acid protein that localizes to the mitochondrial membrane and is highly expressed in muscle, heart, kidney and brain. Containing one DAGKc domain, MULK acts as a lipid kinase that phosphorylates monoacylglycerol and diacylglycerol to form lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and phosphatidic acid (PA), respectively. When overexpressed, MULK increases the production and secretion of LPA, thereby transactivating EGFR and ERK signaling pathways, which in turn lead to increased cell growth. Due to its involvement of LPA overproduction, MULK is implicated in the initiation and progression of prostate cancer. MULK utilizes magnesium as a cofactor and exists as two alternatively spliced isoforms. MULK is encoded by a gene mapping to 7q34.