KLC1 Gene

HGNC Family	Tetratricopeptide repeat domain containing (TTC)
Name	kinesin light chain 1
Description	Conventional kinesin is a tetrameric molecule composed of two heavy chains and two light chains, and transports various cargos along microtubules toward their plus ends. The heavy chains provide the motor activity, while the light chains bind to various cargos. This gene encodes a member of the kinesin light chain family. It associates with kinesin heavy chain through an N-terminal domain, and six tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) motifs are thought to be involved in binding of cargos such as vesicles, mitochondria, and the Golgi complex. Thus, kinesin light chains function as adapter molecules and not motors per se. Although previously named `kinesin 2`, this gene is not a member of the kinesin-2 / kinesin heavy chain subfamily of kinesin motor proteins. Extensive alternative splicing produces isoforms with different C-termini that are proposed to bind to different cargos; however, the full-length nature and/or biological validity of most of these variants have not been determined. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Kinesin light chain 1 (KLC1) is a key adaptor subunit of the kinesin‐1 motor complex that regulates the binding and transport of diverse cellular cargoes. In neurons, KLC1 couples specific cargo proteins to microtubule‐based transport by interacting with adaptor proteins such as JNK‐interacting protein (JIP) family members and calsyntenin‑1. These interactions underpin the anterograde transport of critical proteins such as the amyloid precursor protein (APP), thereby influencing proper neurite outgrowth and synaptic maintenance."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_fs", "start_ref": "1", "end_ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n The binding affinity of KLC1 for its cargo adaptors is dynamically regulated by post‐translational modifications. For example, phosphorylation of KLC1 at serine 460 by extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) modulates its interaction specifically with calsyntenin‑1, thereby fine‑tuning the trafficking of vesicular compartments."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Disruptions in this regulatory mechanism—such as the mislocalization of KLC1 induced by α‐synuclein oligomers—have been associated with compromised axonal transport and may contribute to neurodegenerative pathology."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Beyond its role in neuronal transport, KLC1 also contributes to oncogenic processes. In several non–small‑cell lung carcinoma studies, KLC1 has been identified as a fusion partner with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene. The resulting KLC1‑ALK fusion proteins are constitutively active kinases that drive aberrant cell signaling and tumorigenesis."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In summary, KLC1 is pivotal for intracellular cargo trafficking through its role as an adaptor within the kinesin‑1 motor complex. Its regulated interaction with neuronal cargoes ensures proper protein transport and cellular homeostasis, while its dysregulation—whether by altered phosphorylation or oncogenic fusion—can contribute to the pathogenesis of both neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hidehiko Inomata, Yoshitaka Nakamura, Akira Hayakawa, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "A scaffold protein JIP-1b enhances amyloid precursor protein phosphorylation by JNK and its association with kinesin light chain 1."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M212160200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M212160200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12665528"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12665528"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Anetta Konecna, Renato Frischknecht, Jochen Kinter, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Calsyntenin-1 docks vesicular cargo to kinesin-1."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Biol Cell (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1091/mbc.e06-02-0112"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e06-02-0112"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16760430"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16760430"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Shuji Matsuda, Yukiko Matsuda, Luciano D'Adamio "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Amyloid beta protein precursor (AbetaPP), but not AbetaPP-like protein 2, is bridged to the kinesin light chain by the scaffold protein JNK-interacting protein 1."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.M304379200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M304379200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12893827"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12893827"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Alessio Vagnoni, Lilia Rodriguez, Catherine Manser, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Phosphorylation of kinesin light chain 1 at serine 460 modulates binding and trafficking of calsyntenin-1."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Cell Sci (2011)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1242/jcs.075168"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.075168"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "21385839"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21385839"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Iryna Prots, Janina Grosch, Razvan-Marius Brazdis, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "α-Synuclein oligomers induce early axonal dysfunction in human iPSC-based models of synucleinopathies."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1073/pnas.1713129115"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1713129115"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "29991596"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29991596"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yuki Togashi, Manabu Soda, Seiji Sakata, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "KLC1-ALK: a novel fusion in lung cancer identified using a formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue only."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "PLoS One (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1371/journal.pone.0031323"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0031323"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22347464"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22347464"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Xue Du, Yun Shao, Hai-Feng Qin, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "ALK-rearrangement in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Thorac Cancer (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1111/1759-7714.12613"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/1759-7714.12613"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "29488330"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29488330"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	KLC, KNS2, KNS2A
Proteins	KLC1_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	3831
API
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

KLC1 has 8,924 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 131 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for KLC1 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

KLC1 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of KLC1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of KLC1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of KLC1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of KLC1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq	tissue samples with high or low expression of KLC1 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by RNA-seq dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of KLC1 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of KLC1 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of KLC1 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of KLC1 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of KLC1 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of KLC1 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of KLC1 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with KLC1 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with KLC1 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of KLC1 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of KLC1 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of KLC1 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas	gene perturbations changing expression of KLC1 gene from the CM4AI KOLF21J CRISPRi Gene Perturbation Atlas dataset.
	CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies	assemblies containing KLC1 protein from integrated AP-MS and IF data from the CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of KLC1 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing KLC1 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with KLC1 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	CORUM Protein Complexes	protein complexs containing KLC1 protein from the CORUM Protein Complexes dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of KLC1 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with KLC1 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with KLC1 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with KLC1 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of KLC1 protein relative to other small molecule perturbations from the DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by KLC1 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DGIdb Drug Targets 2026	interacting drugs for KLC1 protein from the DGIdb Drug Targets 2026 dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with KLC1 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with KLC1 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with KLC1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with KLC1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at KLC1 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of KLC1 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of KLC1 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing KLC1 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with KLC1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with KLC1 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.