Background of the antigen
Inositol polyphosphate multikinase (IPMK) belongs to the inositol phosphokinase (IPK) family and is characterized as having a broad substrate specificity. However, IPMK displays a preference for inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3) and inositol 1,3,4,6-tetrakisphosphate (Ins(1,3,4,6)P4). IPMK is ubiquitously expressed with the highest expression in skeletal muscle, liver, placenta, lung, peripheral blood leukocytes, kidney, spleen and colon. IPMK is localized to the nucleus, where it may play a role in the regulation of calcium release from intracellular stores and has been implicated as a drug target for cancer therapies. The gene encoding IPMK maps to human chromosome 10, which contains over 800 genes. Notably, disorders linked to genes on chromosome 10 include Cowden syndrome, Cockayne syndrome and Tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency.