Genomic analysis reveals clinical significance of PGK1 in head and neck cancer

Abstract

The underlying abnormality that yields cancer development is the unregulated growth and proliferation of cancer cells. Phosphoglycerate kinase-1 (PGK1) is a key regulator for cell metabolism and is encoded by the gene PGK1. The protein translated by this gene is a glycolytic enzyme that catalyzes the conversion from 1,3-Bisphosphoglyceric acid to 3-Phosphoglyceric acid. This enzyme takes part in the first energy-producing step of glycolysis. High intracellular expression of PGK1 has been linked to tumor cell proliferation, and high PGK1 mRNA expression predicts poor survival in head and neck cancer. Therefore, the role of PGK1 in cancer cell metabolism could potentially display clinical significance in the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The study that I will conduct under the advisement of Dr. Teng will investigate the role and importance of PGK1 in HNSCC through bioinformatics analysis with RNA sequencing data. The goal of this project is to reveal the clinical relevance/significance of PGK1 in head and neck cancer. In addition, a goal is to provide a strong rationale for further studying PGK1’s role and molecular regulations in head and neck cancer development and progression.