# PRKAA2

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/prkaa2/  
OnCo record `prkaa2` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

PRKAA2 (5'-AMP-activated protein kinase catalytic subunit alpha-2) 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 a biomarker, and clinical evidence ties its variants to diagnosis, prognosis or drug response.

## Summary

Catalytic subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an energy sensor protein kinase that plays a key role in regulating cellular energy metabolism. In response to reduction of intracellular ATP levels, AMPK activates energy-producing pathways and inhibits energy-consuming processes: inhibits protein, carbohydrate and lipid biosynthesis, as well as cell growth and proliferation. AMPK acts via direct phosphorylation of metabolic enzymes, and by longer-term effects via phosphorylation of transcription regulators.

CIViC holds 1 clinical evidence item and 0 assertions across 1 variant, naming ACLY SiRNA.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: protein kinase AMP-activated catalytic subunit alpha 2; 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase catalytic subunit alpha-2; AMPKa2; PRKAA
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: PRKAA2
- Class: kinase
- Biology: Catalytic subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an energy sensor protein kinase that plays a key role in regulating cellular energy metabolism. In response to reduction of intracellular ATP levels, AMPK activates energy-producing pathways and inhibits energy-consuming processes: inhibits protein, carbohydrate and lipid biosynthesis, as well as cell growth and proliferation. AMPK acts via direct phosphorylation of metabolic enzymes, and by longer-term effects via phosphorylation of transcription regulators. Regulates lipid synthesis by phosphorylating and inactivating lipid metabolic enzymes such as ACACA, ACACB, GYS1, HMGCR and LIPE; regulates fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis by phosphorylating acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACACA and ACACB) and hormone-sensitive lipase (LIPE) enzymes, respectively. Promotes lipolysis of lipid droplets by mediating phosphorylation of isoform 1 of CHKA (CHKalpha2). Regulates insulin-signalling and glycolysis by phosphorylating IRS1, PFKFB2 and PFKFB3. Location: Cytoplasm; Nucleus; Late endosome (UniProt). Locus 1p32.2 (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: CIViC lists 1 therapies; CIViC holds 1 clinical evidence items on its variants. Evidence tier "clinical-evidence" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:9377: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:9377
- UniProt P54646: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P54646/entry
- NCBI Gene 5563: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/5563
- Ensembl ENSG00000162409: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000162409

## Connected records

- collections: [CIViC](https://onco.cc/collections/civic/)
- pathways: [Autophagy](https://onco.cc/pathways/autophagy/), [Lipid synthesis, uptake & cholesterol](https://onco.cc/pathways/lipid-metabolism-cancer/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/prkaa2.json