Cancer Protein Description
This report provides a detailed description of a selected cancer protein with information collected from various sources, including UniProt, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute’s Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC), and the Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology.
| Protein Name: | PKM2 |
| Gene Name: | PKM2 |
| Protein Full Name: | Pyruvate kinase isozymes M1/M2 |
| Alias: | CTHBP; Cytosolic thyroid hormone-binding protein; EC 2.7.1.40; KPYM; M2-type PyK; M2-type pyruvate kinase; OIP3; PK3; PKM; PYKM2; PYK-M2; Pyruvate kinase 2/3; Pyruvate kinase M; Pyruvate kinase muscle isozyme; Pyruvate kinase, M2 isozyme; Pyruvate kinase, muscle; THBP1 |
| Mass (Da): | 57937 |
| Number AA: | 531 |
| UniProt ID: | P14618 |
| Locus ID: | 5315 |
| COSMIC ID: | PKM2 |
| Gene location on chromosome: | 15q22 |
| Cancer protein type: | OP |
| Effect of cancer mutation on protein: | UNCLEAR |
| Effect of active protein on cancer: | PROMOTES |
| Number of cancer specimens: | 20174 |
| Percent of cancer specimens with mutations: | 0.35 |
| Normal role description: | PKM2 is a pyruvate kinase involved in glycolysis. PKM2 catalyzes the final step in glycolysis which transfers a phosphate group from phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to ADP to generate ATP and pyruvate. The PKM2 isoform is expressed predominantly in highly proliferative cells such as embryonic cells, adult stem cells and tumour cells. PKM2 can be found in both tetrameric and dimeric configurations with the two complex types having different functions. In normal healthy cells the tetrameric complex is the dominant form and will favour PEP/ADP conversion to pyruvate/ATP. The dimeric form of PKM2 has a low affinity to PEP and thus will result in an accumulation of products upstream of PEP which can be used by cancer cells in other anabolic processes required for cell growth. Thus the ratio of tetrameric:dimeric PKM2 can be used as a diagnostic tool for cancer detection with cancer tumours favouring the dimeric form. PKM2 dimerization and expression can be induced by oncogenes such as A-Raf, HPV-16 E7 and HIF-1. PKM2 has also been found to translocate to the nucleus in transformed cells and may have both pro-proliferative and pro-apoptotic functions perhaps through histone phosphorylation or transactivation of target genes. In cancer PKM2 was observed to be overexpressed in gastrointestinal tumors, melanoma, lung, breast, prostate, ovary and cervical cancers. PKM2 can be classified as an oncogene. |