Deoxycytidine kinase, also known as DCK, is an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 which in humans is encoded by the DCK gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

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DCK transfers phosphate to deoxycytidine

Deoxycytidine

Deoxycytidine is a deoxyribonucleoside. It is like cytidine, but with one oxygen atom removed....

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Function

Deoxycytidine kinase (DCK) is required for the phosphorylation of several deoxyribonucleosides and their nucleoside analogs. Deficiency of DCK is associated with resistance to antiviral and anticancer chemotherapeutic agents. Conversely, increased deoxycytidine kinase activity is associated with increased activation of these compounds to cytotoxic nucleoside triphosphate derivatives. DCK is clinically important because of its relationship to drug resistance and sensitivity.

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