The protein encoded by this gene is similar to Saccharomyces cerevisiae LYS5, which is required for the activation of the alpha-aminoadipate dehydrogenase in the biosynthetic pathway of lysine. Yeast alpha-aminoadipate dehydrogenase converts alpha-biosynthetic-aminoadipate semialdehyde to alpha-aminoadipate. It has been suggested that defects in the human gene result in pipecolic acidemia. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].