Choline Kinase - Biological Function

Biological Function

Choline Kinase catalyzes the formation of phoshocholine,the committed step in phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis. Phosphatidylcholine is the major phospholipid in eukaryotic membranes. Phosphatidylcholine is important for a variety of function in eukaryotes such as facilitating the transport of cholesterol through the organism, acting as a substrate for the production of second messengers and as a cofactor for the activity of several membrane-related enzymes. CK also plays a vital role in the production of sphingomyelin,another important membrane phospholipid and in the regulation of cell growth.

The production of phosphocholine from CK is necessary for the signal transduction pathways related to mitogenesis. It has also been found that CK plays a critical role in the proliferation of human mammary epithelial cells.

In vivo studies carried out using CKα-1 and CKβ isoforms suggest that each isoform might be involved in different biochemical pathways.CKβ plays a major role in the catalysis of the phosphorylation of ethanolamine while CKα-1 catalyzes the phosphorylation of both choline and ethanolamine.