# PRKACA

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

## TL;DR

PRKACA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit alpha) is a protein kinase, an enzyme that switches other proteins on by adding phosphate groups. In the public catalogues the evidence so far is association rather than a proven role. Tied to Hepatocellular carcinoma.

## Summary

Phosphorylates a large number of substrates in the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Phosphorylates CDC25B, ABL1, NFKB1, CLDN3, histone H1.4 (H1-4), PSMC5/RPT6, PJA2, RYR2, RORA, SLC6A6, SOX9, UHRF1 and VASP. Regulates the abundance of compartmentalised pools of its regulatory subunits through phosphorylation of PJA2 which binds and ubiquitinates these subunits, leading to their subsequent proteolysis.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.59 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.92, genetic association 0.00, somatic mutation 0.93).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: protein kinase cAMP-activated catalytic subunit alpha; cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit alpha; PKACa
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: PRKACA
- Class: kinase
- Biology: Phosphorylates a large number of substrates in the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Phosphorylates CDC25B, ABL1, NFKB1, CLDN3, histone H1.4 (H1-4), PSMC5/RPT6, PJA2, RYR2, RORA, SLC6A6, SOX9, UHRF1 and VASP. Regulates the abundance of compartmentalised pools of its regulatory subunits through phosphorylation of PJA2 which binds and ubiquitinates these subunits, leading to their subsequent proteolysis. RORA is activated by phosphorylation. Required for glucose-mediated adipogenic differentiation increase and osteogenic differentiation inhibition from osteoblasts. Involved in chondrogenesis by mediating phosphorylation of SOX9. Location: Cytoplasm; Cell membrane; Membrane; Nucleus (UniProt). Locus 19p13.12 (HGNC).
- Where found: Hepatocellular carcinoma: Open Targets association 0.51 with hepatocellular carcinoma (MONDO_0007256)

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

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:9380: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:9380
- UniProt P17612: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P17612/entry
- NCBI Gene 5566: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/5566
- Ensembl ENSG00000072062: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000072062

## Connected records

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

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