Serine/threonine-protein kinase MRCK alpha

Serine/threonine-protein kinase MRCK alpha (CDC42BPA) is a downstream effector of CDC42 that regulates cytoskeleton reorganization and cell migration through phosphorylation of key substrates including PPP1R12C, MYL9, LIMK1, and LIMK2 (UniProt: Q5VT25). The protein mediates actin cytoskeletal dynamics in lamellipodial structures and coordinates with other factors to modulate actomyosin retrograde flow critical for cell protrusion and migration.

CDC42BPA operates primarily within the cytoskeleton remodeling pathway and has been implicated in epithelial cell extrusion and iron uptake regulation (UniProt: Q5VT25). No primary disease associations are documented in UniProt curated records.

In Alzheimer's disease, CDC42BPA is significantly downregulated in post-mortem AD brain tissue relative to age-matched controls (Chaparral AD proteomics, mean log2FC: −0.25). This reduction was detected across subcellular fractions in a TMT-labeled proteomics study, suggesting potential disruption of cytoskeletal dynamics and cell migration processes in AD pathology.