# ITK

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/itk/  
OnCo record `itk` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

ITK (Tyrosine-protein kinase ITK/TSK) is a protein kinase, an enzyme that switches other proteins on by adding phosphate groups. The public catalogues list it as a drug target, and an approved or late-stage drug is recorded against it. Tied to Renal cell carcinoma and Sarcomas.

## Summary

Tyrosine kinase that plays an essential role in regulation of the adaptive immune response. Regulates the development, function and differentiation of conventional T-cells and nonconventional NKT-cells. When antigen presenting cells (APC) activate T-cell receptor (TCR), a series of phosphorylation lead to the recruitment of ITK to the cell membrane, in the vicinity of the stimulated TCR receptor, where it is phosphorylated by LCK.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.68 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes clinical 0.97, literature 0.90, genetic association 0.00, somatic mutation 0.50, animal model 0.34). In OnCo, 3 product records name it (Ibrutinib, Acalabrutinib and Soquelitinib).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: IL2 inducible T cell kinase; Tyrosine-protein kinase ITK/TSK; PSCTK2
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: ITK
- Class: kinase
- Biology: Tyrosine kinase that plays an essential role in regulation of the adaptive immune response. Regulates the development, function and differentiation of conventional T-cells and nonconventional NKT-cells. When antigen presenting cells (APC) activate T-cell receptor (TCR), a series of phosphorylation lead to the recruitment of ITK to the cell membrane, in the vicinity of the stimulated TCR receptor, where it is phosphorylated by LCK. Phosphorylation leads to ITK autophosphorylation and full activation. Once activated, phosphorylates PLCG1, leading to the activation of this lipase and subsequent cleavage of its substrates. In turn, the endoplasmic reticulum releases calcium in the cytoplasm and the nuclear activator of activated T-cells (NFAT) translocates into the nucleus to perform its transcriptional duty. Location: Cytoplasm; Nucleus (UniProt). Locus 5q33.3 (HGNC).
- Where found: Renal cell carcinoma: Open Targets association 0.63 with renal cell carcinoma (MONDO_0005086); Sarcomas: Open Targets association 0.62 with sarcoma (MONDO_0005089)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: Open Targets known-drug datatype score 0.97. Evidence tier "approved-drug" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:6171: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:6171
- UniProt Q08881: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q08881/entry
- NCBI Gene 3702: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/3702
- Ensembl ENSG00000113263: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000113263

## Connected records

- collections: [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)
- cancers: [Renal cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/rcc/), [Sarcomas (soft tissue, bone, GIST)](https://onco.cc/cancers/sarcoma/)
- drugs: [Acalabrutinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/acalabrutinib/), [Ibrutinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/ibrutinib/), [Soquelitinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/soquelitinib/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/itk.json