PRKAB2 Gene

Name	protein kinase, AMP-activated, beta 2 non-catalytic subunit
Description	The protein encoded by this gene is a regulatory subunit of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). AMPK is a heterotrimer consisting of an alpha catalytic subunit, and non-catalytic beta and gamma subunits. AMPK is an important energy-sensing enzyme that monitors cellular energy status. In response to cellular metabolic stresses, AMPK is activated, and thus phosphorylates and inactivates acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and beta-hydroxy beta-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR), key enzymes involved in regulating de novo biosynthesis of fatty acid and cholesterol. This subunit may be a positive regulator of AMPK activity. It is highly expressed in skeletal muscle and thus may have tissue-specific roles. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2013]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nAMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a central sensor of cellular energy status that operates as a heterotrimer composed of a catalytic α‐subunit and regulatory β‐ and γ‐subunits. The β2 subunit, encoded by PRKAB2, is essential for fine-tuning AMPK activity through dynamic post-translational modifications. For example, ubiquitination of AMPK subunits by protein complexes can modify subcellular distribution without promoting proteasomal degradation"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ", while sumoylation of the AMPK β2 subunit enhances the activity of the heterotrimeric complex by antagonizing its ubiquitination."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " This regulatory integration contributes to the overall role of AMPK in adapting cardiac and metabolic responses during cellular stress."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nGenetic studies have interrogated the relationship between PRKAB2 variants and metabolic conditions. Analyses in populations at risk for type 2 diabetes found no convincing association of common PRKAB2 variants with the disease"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ", and detailed examinations in Pima Indians similarly suggest that PRKAB2 variation does not significantly contribute to diabetes susceptibility. In contrast, a study of antipsychotic drug–induced weight gain in schizophrenia patients identified specific polymorphisms in PRKAB2 that correlated with increased weight gain"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ", while research in adipocytes has revealed that the AMPK β2 isoform is the predominant regulatory component controlling lipid accumulation and adiponectin secretion during adipogenesis."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "7"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, investigations in skeletal muscle expressing the muscle-specific AMPK complex (α2β2γ3) further underscore the functional participation and biochemical properties contributed by the β2 subunit."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "8"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nEmerging transcriptomic and functional studies have highlighted additional isoform-specific roles for PRKAB2 in developmental and neuronal contexts. Loss of the β2 subunit in human induced pluripotent stem cells dramatically disrupts mesoderm specification and abrogates subsequent cardiomyocyte differentiation, emphasizing its indispensability for proper cardiac lineage commitment."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "9"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Concomitantly, reduced AMPK β function has been linked to impaired sleep architecture and compromised stress resilience in neuronal models, indicating a broader role in maintaining neuronal integrity."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "10"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Differential expression of AMPK subunit isoforms in cancers further supports a tissue-specific impact of PRKAB2"}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "11"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ", and potential involvement in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy hints at additional roles in renal cell injury."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "12"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n"}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Daniel Moreno, Mhairi C Towler, D Grahame Hardie, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "The laforin-malin complex, involved in Lafora disease, promotes the incorporation of K63-linked ubiquitin chains into AMP-activated protein kinase beta subunits."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Biol Cell (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1091/mbc.e10-03-0227"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e10-03-0227"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20534808"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20534808"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Teresa Rubio, Santiago Vernia, Pascual Sanz "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Sumoylation of AMPKβ2 subunit enhances AMP-activated protein kinase activity."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Biol Cell (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1091/mbc.E12-11-0806"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.E12-11-0806"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23552691"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23552691"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Vlad G Zaha, Lawrence H Young "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "AMP-activated protein kinase regulation and biological actions in the heart."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Circ Res (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.111.255505"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.111.255505"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22935535"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22935535"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "M Prochazka, V S Farook, V Ossowski, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Variant screening of PRKAB2, a type 2 diabetes mellitus susceptibility candidate gene on 1q in Pima Indians."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cell Probes (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1006/mcpr.2002.0439"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1006/mcpr.2002.0439"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12490143"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12490143"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Maria W Sun, Jennifer Y Lee, Paul I W de Bakker, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Haplotype structures and large-scale association testing of the 5' AMP-activated protein kinase genes PRKAA2, PRKAB1, and PRKAB2 [corrected] with type 2 diabetes."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Diabetes (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.2337/diabetes.55.03.06.db05-1418"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.2337/diabetes.55.03.06.db05-1418"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16505254"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16505254"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Renan P Souza, Arun K Tiwari, Nabilah I Chowdhury, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Association study between variants of AMP-activated protein kinase catalytic and regulatory subunit genes with antipsychotic-induced weight gain."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Psychiatr Res (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.01.010"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.01.010"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22305490"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22305490"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Omar J Katwan, Fatmah Alghamdi, Tarek A Almabrouk, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "AMP-activated protein kinase complexes containing the β2 regulatory subunit are up-regulated during and contribute to adipogenesis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Biochem J (2019)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1042/BCJ20180714"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20180714"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "31189568"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31189568"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lata Ramanathan, Payal R Sheth, Polina Ogas, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Purification and characterization of truncated human AMPK alpha 2 beta 2 gamma 3 heterotrimer from baculovirus-infected insect cells."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Protein Expr Purif (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.pep.2009.10.007"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pep.2009.10.007"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19836452"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19836452"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Nicole Ziegler, Erik Bader, Alexey Epanchintsev, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "AMPKβ1 and AMPKβ2 define an isoform-specific gene signature in human pluripotent stem cells, differentially mediating cardiac lineage specification."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Biol Chem (2020)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1074/jbc.RA120.013990"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.RA120.013990"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "33454005"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33454005"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Stanislav Nagy, Gianna W Maurer, Julie L Hentze, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "AMPK signaling linked to the schizophrenia-associated 1q21.1 deletion is required for neuronal and sleep maintenance."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "PLoS Genet (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1371/journal.pgen.1007623"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1007623"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "30566533"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30566533"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 11, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cuilan Li, Vincent Ws Liu, Pui M Chiu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Over-expressions of AMPK subunits in ovarian carcinomas with significant clinical implications."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "BMC Cancer (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1186/1471-2407-12-357"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2407-12-357"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22897928"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22897928"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 12, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hongxiu Du, Yakun Wang, Yingchun Zhu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "MiR-29b Alleviates High Glucose-induced Inflammation and Apoptosis in Podocytes by Down-regulating PRKAB2."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets (2024)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.2174/0118715303267375231204103200"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.2174/0118715303267375231204103200"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "38204237"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38204237"}]}]}]}
Proteins	AAKB2_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	5565
API
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

PRKAB2 has 6,957 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, functional term, phrase or reference, chemical, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 130 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for PRKAB2 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

PRKAB2 Gene

Functional Associations

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

	Dataset	Summary
	Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles	cell lines with fitness changed by PRKAB2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of PRKAB2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human 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 PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Biocarta Pathways	pathways involving PRKAB2 protein from the Biocarta Pathways dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with PRKAB2 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of PRKAB2 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CM4AI U2OS Cell Map Protein Localization Assemblies	assemblies containing PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing PRKAB2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing PRKAB2 protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with PRKAB2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with PRKAB2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of PRKAB2 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with PRKAB2 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with PRKAB2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations	traits associated with PRKAB2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the dbGAP Gene-Trait Associations dataset.
	DeepCoverMOA Drug Mechanisms of Action	small molecule perturbations with high or low expression of PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases involving PRKAB2 gene from the DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases involving PRKAB2 gene from the DISEASES Curated Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases associated with PRKAB2 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with PRKAB2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with PRKAB2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	DrugBank Drug Targets	interacting drugs for PRKAB2 protein from the curated DrugBank Drug Targets dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at PRKAB2 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 PRKAB2 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of PRKAB2 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.