The pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial multienzyme complex that catalyzes the overall conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA and CO(2). It provides the primary link between glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and thus is one of the major enzymes responsible for the regulation of glucose metabolism. The enzymatic activity of PDH is regulated by a phosphorylation/dephosphorylation cycle, and phosphorylation results in inactivation of PDH. The protein encoded by this gene is one of the three pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases that inhibits the PDH complex by phosphorylation of the E1 alpha subunit. This gene is predominantly expressed in the heart and skeletal muscles. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Mar 2010].