NADK Background Information
NADK (NAD kinase) is a 446 amino acid protein that belongs to the NAD kinase family. Expressed at high levels in placenta and at moderate levels in colon, kidney, brain, heart, liver, spleen, lung, testis and stomach, NADK functions to catalyze the transfer of a phosphate group from ATP to NAD+, thereby generating NADP+. Once formed, NADP+ can be reduced to NADPH, which can subsequently act as an eletron donor in biosynthetic reactions. Through its ability to catalyze the formation of NADP+, NADK is able to control the concentration of NADPH within the cell. NADK uses divalent metal cations (such as zinc and manganese) as cofactors and exhibits the highest rate of enzymatic activity at a pH of 7.5.
