High expression of glycolytic genes in cirrhosis correlates with the risk of developing liver cancer
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Lee, Nathan CW
Carella, Maria Annunziata
Papa, Salvatore
Bubici, Concetta
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
A marked increase in the rate of glycolysis is a key event in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the main type of primary liver cancer. Liver cirrhosis is considered to be a key player in HCC pathogenesis as it precedes HCC in up to 90% of patients. Intriguingly, the biochemical events that underlie the progression of cirrhosis to HCC are not well understood. In this study, we examined the expression profile of metabolic gene transcripts in liver samples from patients with HCC and patients with cirrhosis. We found that gene expression of glycolytic enzymes is up-regulated in precancerous cirrhotic livers and significantly associated with an elevated risk for developing HCC. Surprisingly, expression levels of genes involved in mitochondrial oxidative metabolism are markedly increased in HCC compared to normal livers but remain unchanged in cirrhosis. Our findings suggest that key glycolytic enzymes such as hexokinase 2 (HK2), aldolase A (ALDOA), and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) may represent potential markers and molecular targets for early detection and chemoprevention of HCC.
Date Issued
2018-10-31
Date Acceptance
2018-09-26
Citation
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 2018, 6
ISSN
2296-634X
Publisher
Frontiers Media
Journal / Book Title
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
Volume
6
Copyright Statement
© 2018 Lee, Carella, Papa and Bubici. This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the
original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original
publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.
No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these
terms.
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the
original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original
publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.
No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these
terms.
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Cell Biology
Developmental Biology
glucose metabolism
aerobic glycolysis
the Warburg effect
liver
liver cancer
HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA
PYRUVATE-KINASE
GLUCOSE-METABOLISM
CELL-METABOLISM
SURVIVAL
ISOFORM
DEHYDROGENASE
DYSPLASIA
ALDOLASE
SERUM
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 138
Date Publish Online
2018-10-31