Ceramide Kinase (CERK)

CERK converts ceramide to ceramide 1-phosphate (C1P), a sphingolipid metabolite. CERK contains an N-terminal pleckstrin homology (PH) domain and several regions conserved in sphingosine kinases, including a central diacylglycerol kinase domain. It has 4 N-glycosylation sites, 15 phosphorylation sites, 5 prenylation sites, 2 amidation sites, and a putative calcium/calmodulin-binding motif. highest expression of a predominant 4.7-kb transcript in heart, followed by brain, skeletal muscle, kidney, and liver.Moderate expression was detected in peripheral blood leukocytes and thymus, and lower levels were present in all other tissues examined.  A similar expression pattern was detected in mouse tissues, and developing mice showed highest expression at embryonic day 7, after which expression decreased rapidly.