Role and Regulation of PFKP in Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

Cancer cells reprogram their cellular activities uniquely to support their rapid proliferation and migration and to counteract metabolic and genotoxic stress during cancer progression. One key regulator for cell metabolism is phosphofructokinase (PFK), which is an allosteric enzyme with four subunits. PFK platelet (PFKP) is one of the PFK isoforms which is highly expressed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) compared with normal tissues. There is a likely possibility that PFKP has the potential to regulate metabolism of HNSCC to sustain tumor growth. This study conducted as a research experiment under the guidance of Dr. Teng was focused on the function and regulation of PFKP in HNSCC metabolism. Towards this end, the PFKP gene was knocked down in HNSCC cell lines by lentiviral-mediated shRNAs and the metabolic signaling and cell proliferation were determined by Western blotting, cell colony formation assays, and MTT assays, respectively. Based on these results, we conclude that PFKP enhances glucose metabolism in HNSCC cells, which in turn increases cell proliferation. Our findings provide new insights into the role of PFKP in HNSCC cells metabolic reprogramming.