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Protein / target

Kinesin-1 heavy chain

Encoded byKIF5BP33176Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
2
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
11
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Approved Drug

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Plus-end-directed microtubule motor

Strongest disease association

Kyphomelic dysplasia

Via encoding gene KIF5B · Genetic literature evidence · score 0.79

Therapeutic position

Established drug target

Small molecules

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function overview

Microtubule-dependent motor required for normal distribution of mitochondria and lysosomes.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Microtubule-dependent motor required for normal distribution of mitochondria and lysosomes. Can induce formation of neurite-like membrane protrusions in non-neuronal cells in a ZFYVE27-dependent manner (By similarity). Regulates centrosome and nuclear positioning during mitotic entry. During the G2 phase of the cell cycle in a BICD2-dependent manner, antagonizes dynein function and drives the separation of nuclei and centrosomes (PubMed:20386726). Required for anterograde axonal transportation of MAPK8IP3/JIP3 which is essential for MAPK8IP3/JIP3 function in axon elongation (By similarity). Through binding with PLEKHM2 and ARL8B, directs lysosome movement toward microtubule plus ends (Probable). Involved in NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Drives the polarization of cytolytic granules and microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs) toward the immune synapse between effector NK lymphocytes and target cells (PubMed:24088571)

Subcellular location

Cytoplasm, cytoskeletonCytolytic granule membraneLysosome membrane
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (40)

Domains & features

Kinesin motor

Gene Ontology

  • Caxon cytoplasm
  • Cciliary rootlet
  • Ccytolytic granule membrane
  • Ccytoplasm
  • Ccytosol
  • Cdendrite cytoplasm
  • Ckinesin complex
  • Cmembrane
  • Cmicrotubule
  • Cmitochondrion
  • Cperinuclear region of cytoplasm
  • Cphagocytic vesicle

963 aa · 110 kDa

Biological roles

Reactome v97

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Inhibitory neurotransmissionGOImmune signallingReactome
View supporting evidence

Inhibitory neurotransmission

  • ·positive regulation of synaptic transmission, GABAergic

Immune signalling

  • ·MHC class II antigen presentation
  • ·Processing of antigen in germinal center B cells
View underlying pathways (7)

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Interaction neighbourhood

STRING v12.0

Proteins with the strongest functional or physical association. Node size and line weight reflect STRING confidence; hover or select a partner to inspect one association.

KLC3KLC2KLC1KLC4RANBP2KIF5ASYBUKIF5CTUBA1ATUBB2AKIF5B

10 strongest partners — larger node and heavier line mean higher confidence

Functional and physical associations from STRING v12.0. Only associations with this protein are drawn — partner-to-partner links are not part of this evidence.

Approved medicines with mapped indications

1 medicine · 2 areas

Approved therapies targeting this protein, grouped by what they are approved to treat — the disease-first view of the medicines below. Relationships come from the canonical approved-indication graph (ChEMBL phase-4), the same source as the drug cards.

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung1 medicine
Broader indication categories (1)
Neoplasms1 medicine

Broad umbrella indications (e.g. “Neoplasms”). Shown here because every medicine also appears under a more specific disease above — kept for completeness, de-emphasised for clarity.

2 medicines meet Open Targets' target-level approved-medicine definition; the 1 shown here are those on this page with a canonical approved disease indication in the graph. Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.

Drugs targeting this protein

1

How approved and investigational drugs engage this protein — mechanism and action type, direct vs complex targeting, and how broadly each acts across other targets. A drug-first view (the section above groups the approved ones disease-first); direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.

pralsetinib
Narrow target profileApprovedInhibitor

Kinesin-1 heavy chain/ Tyrosine-protein kinase receptor RET inhibitor

Indicated for Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung, Neoplasms

Direct interaction with this protein · 1 of 3 recorded protein targets — narrow recorded profile

ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.

Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene KIF5B

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene KIF5Bthat encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung
0.83Well supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.67

Neoplasms
0.77Well supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.58

Medullary thyroid gland carcinoma
0.66Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.54

Kyphomelic dysplasia
0.64Moderately supported

Genetic literature evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.49

Thyroid Neoplasms
0.59Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.48

View evidence synthesis (5)
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungWell supported
0.83
agreement 0.710.95
Clinical61%Somatic mutation34%Literature5%

Open Targets aggregate 0.67 · 3 independent evidence families

NeoplasmsWell supported
0.77
agreement 0.670.88
Clinical53%Pathway34%Somatic mutation9%Literature4%

Open Targets aggregate 0.58 · 4 independent evidence families

Medullary thyroid gland carcinomaModerately supported
0.66
agreement 0.510.82
Clinical99%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.54 · 2 independent evidence families

Kyphomelic dysplasiaModerately supported
0.64
agreement 0.490.79
Genetic literature98%Literature2%

Open Targets aggregate 0.49 · 2 independent evidence families

Thyroid NeoplasmsModerately supported
0.59
agreement 0.430.74
Clinical99%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.48 · 2 independent evidence families

The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.

Show all associations
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung0.67
Neoplasms0.58
Medullary thyroid gland carcinoma0.54
Kyphomelic dysplasia0.49
Thyroid Neoplasms0.48
Neurodegenerative Diseases0.41

Drug development

2 compounds recorded · 2 approved

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines. Distinct from the 1 drug that targets this protein in Forefront's canonical graph (1 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (2)
PRALSETINIBApproval
SELPERCATINIBApproval

Open Targets known-drugs universe. Drug name and highest clinical stage only — the disease relationship is NOT read from this slice (it carries trial-context noise); approved indications come from the canonical graph above.

Tractability

Small moleculesStrong

Approved Drug and Structure with Ligand support this modality.

AntibodiesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot loc high conf) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot ubiquitination and database ubiquitination) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

View underlying tractability evidence (9)
SM · Approved DrugSM · Structure with LigandSM · High-Quality LigandSM · Med-Quality PocketAB · UniProt loc high confPR · UniProt UbiquitinationPR · Database UbiquitinationPR · Half-life DataPR · Small Molecule Binder

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Clinical trials

11

Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein. Ranked by active status, then clinical phase and recency, and spread across the targeting drugs.

View all trials (7)

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

1

Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for a drug that targets this protein, plus publications where such a drug is a genuine subject. Every item is reached indirectly through the drug, not the protein itself; incidental mentions (a paper that merely measures a drug) and press items are excluded.

  1. Withdrawn from market2024-10-24

    Market withdrawal: Gavreto (EMA)

    ema · market · ema · via pralsetinib

Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.