N-Acetylglucosamine Kinase (NAGK)

N-acetylglucosamine kinase (NAGK; EC 2.7.1.59) converts endogenous N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), a major component of complex carbohydrates, from lysosomal degradation or nutritional sources into GlcNAc 6-phosphate. NAGK belongs to the group of N-acetylhexosamine kinases and is a prominent salvage enzyme of amino sugar metabolism in mammals.

Using the mouse Nagk sequence to search the human EST database, Hinderlich et al. (2000) obtained a complete cDNA encoding NAGK. The predicted 344-amino acid NAGK protein contains the 5 sequence motifs necessary for the binding of ATP by sugar kinases. NAGK shares 91.6% amino acid similarity with mouse Nagk.