# KAT5

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/kat5/  
OnCo record `kat5` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

KAT5 (Histone acetyltransferase KAT5) is a protein that switches other genes on and off. The public catalogues list it as a DNA repair gene, and the evidence so far is association rather than a proven role.

## Summary

Catalytic subunit of the NuA4 histone acetyltransferase complex, a multiprotein complex involved in transcriptional activation of select genes principally by acetylation of nucleosomal histones H2A and H4. Histone acetylation alters nucleosome-DNA interactions and promotes interaction of the modified histones with other proteins which positively regulate transcription. The NuA4 histone acetyltransferase complex is required for the activation of transcriptional programs associated with proto-oncogene mediated growth induction, tumour suppressor mediated growth arrest and replicative senescence, apoptosis, and DNA repair.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.56 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.98, affected pathway 0.87, genetic association 0.00, somatic mutation 0.00).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: lysine acetyltransferase 5; Histone acetyltransferase KAT5; TIP60; cPLA2; HTATIP1; ESA1; HTATIP
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: KAT5
- Class: transcription
- Biology: Catalytic subunit of the NuA4 histone acetyltransferase complex, a multiprotein complex involved in transcriptional activation of select genes principally by acetylation of nucleosomal histones H2A and H4. Histone acetylation alters nucleosome-DNA interactions and promotes interaction of the modified histones with other proteins which positively regulate transcription. The NuA4 histone acetyltransferase complex is required for the activation of transcriptional programs associated with proto-oncogene mediated growth induction, tumour suppressor mediated growth arrest and replicative senescence, apoptosis, and DNA repair. The NuA4 complex plays a direct role in repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by promoting homologous recombination (HR): the complex inhibits TP53BP1 binding to chromatin via MBTD1, which recognises and binds histone H4 trimethylated at 'Lys-20' (H4K20me), and KAT5 that catalyses acetylation of 'Lys-15' of histone H2A (H2AK15ac), thereby blocking the ubiquitination mark required for TP53BP1 localisation at DNA breaks. Also involved in DSB repair by mediating acetylation of 'Lys-5' of histone H2AX (H2AXK5ac), promoting NBN/NBS1 assembly at the sites of DNA damage. The NuA4 complex plays a key role in haematopoietic stem cell maintenance and is required to maintain acetylated H2A.Z/H2AZ1 at MYC target genes. Location: Nucleus; Chromosome; Cytoplasm; Chromosome, centromere, kinetochore (UniProt). Locus 11q13.1 (HGNC).

## 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: UniProt keyword "DNA repair". Evidence tier "association-only" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:5275: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:5275
- UniProt Q92993: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q92993/entry
- NCBI Gene 10524: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/10524
- Ensembl ENSG00000172977: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000172977

## Connected records

- collections: [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/kat5.json