The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the serine/threonine protein kinase family. The encoded protein is a catalytic subunit of cAMP (cyclic AMP)-dependent protein kinase, which mediates signalling though cAMP. cAMP signaling is important to a number of processes, including cell proliferaton and differentiation. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been observed. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2014]
Forensic Context
A study in humans demonstrated that the PRKACB is down-regulated in the post-mortem anterior temporal lobe of individuals with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), CTE with Alzheimer's disease (CTE/AD), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to normal subjects, as part of a broader down-regulation of memory function and long-term potentiation-related genes [Cho et al. DOI:10.1038/s41598-020-65916-y]. In rats, transcriptome profiling of whisker follicles from a methamphetamine self-administration model identified the PRKACB as a potential regulator of drug reward and addiction, showing an up-down expression pattern after administration and withdrawal and ranking with a betweenness centrality score of 0.0447 [Song et al. DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-29772-1].