TBK1 (TANK-binding kinase 1) is an enzyme with kinase activity. Specifically, it is a serine / threonine protein kinase. It is encoded by the TBK1 gene in humans. This kinase is mainly known for its role in innate immunity antiviral response. However, TBK1 also regulates cell proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy, and anti-tumor immunity. Insufficient regulation of TBK1 activity leads to autoimmune, neurodegenerative diseases or tumorigenesis. TBK1 is involved in many signaling pathways and forms a node between them. For this reason, regulation of its involvement in individual signaling pathways is necessary. This is provided by adaptor proteins that interact with the dimerization domain of TBK1 to determine its location and access to substrates. Binding to TANK leads to localization to the perinuclear region and phosphorylation of substrates which is required for subsequent production of type I interferons (IFN-I). In contrast, binding to NAP1 and SINTBAD leads to localization in the cytoplasm and involvement in autophagy. Another adaptor protein that determines the location of TBK1 is TAPE. TAPE targets TBK1 to endolysosomes.