# SPHK1

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/sphk1/  
OnCo record `sphk1` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

SPHK1 (Sphingosine kinase 1) is a protein kinase, an enzyme that switches other proteins on by adding phosphate groups. The public catalogues list it as a biomarker, and clinical evidence ties its variants to diagnosis, prognosis or drug response. Tied to Cervical cancer.

## Summary

Catalyses the phosphorylation of sphingosine to form sphingosine 1-phosphate (SPP), a lipid mediator with both intra- and extracellular functions. Also acts on D-erythro-sphingosine and to a lesser extent sphinganine, but not other lipids, such as D,L-threo-dihydrosphingosine, N,N-dimethylsphingosine, diacylglycerol, ceramide, or phosphatidylinositol. In contrast to proapoptotic SPHK2, has a negative effect on intracellular ceramide levels, enhances cell growth and inhibits apoptosis.

CIViC holds 1 clinical evidence item and 0 assertions across 1 variant.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: sphingosine kinase 1; Sphingosine kinase 1
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: SPHK1
- Class: kinase
- Biology: Catalyses the phosphorylation of sphingosine to form sphingosine 1-phosphate (SPP), a lipid mediator with both intra- and extracellular functions. Also acts on D-erythro-sphingosine and to a lesser extent sphinganine, but not other lipids, such as D,L-threo-dihydrosphingosine, N,N-dimethylsphingosine, diacylglycerol, ceramide, or phosphatidylinositol. In contrast to proapoptotic SPHK2, has a negative effect on intracellular ceramide levels, enhances cell growth and inhibits apoptosis. Involved in the regulation of inflammatory response and neuroinflammation. Via the product sphingosine 1-phosphate, stimulates TRAF2 E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, and promotes activation of NF-kappa-B in response to TNF signalling leading to IL17 secretion. In response to TNF and in parallel to NF-kappa-B activation, negatively regulates RANTES induction through p38 MAPK signalling pathway. Location: Cytoplasm; Nucleus; Cell membrane; Endosome membrane (UniProt). Locus 17q25.1 (HGNC).
- Where found: Cervical cancer: CIViC evidence names this disease

## 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 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:11240: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:11240
- UniProt Q9NYA1: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q9NYA1/entry
- NCBI Gene 8877: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/8877
- Ensembl ENSG00000176170: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000176170

## Connected records

- collections: [CIViC](https://onco.cc/collections/civic/)
- cancers: [Cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/sphk1.json