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Engineering Artificial Factors to Specifically Manipulate Alternative Splicing in Human Cells
Published on: April 26, 2017
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Discovery of Functional Alternatively Spliced PKM Transcripts in Human Cancers
Xiangyu Li1, Woonghee Kim1, Muhammad Arif1
1Science for Life Laboratory, KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, SE-17165 Stockholm, Sweden.
Cancers
|January 22, 2021
Summary
Pyruvate kinase muscle type (PKM) transcripts show varied prognostic value in 25 cancers. Some PKM variants, including novel ones, influence patient survival and may play roles in cancer metabolism and invasion.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Pyruvate kinase muscle type (PKM) is crucial in glycolysis and cancer.
- The prognostic significance of PKM expression in various cancers remains debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prognostic value and biological functions of different PKM transcripts across human cancers.
- To clarify the controversial association between PKM expression and patient survival outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized systems biology approaches to analyze PKM transcript expression.
- Examined associations between mRNA levels and survival in 25 cancer types.
- Validated findings in an independent kidney cancer cohort.
- Detected protein products via Western blot and mass spectrometry.
Main Results:
- PKM2 and novel transcripts (ENST00000389093, ENST00000568883, ENST00000561609) displayed opposing prognostic implications in different cancers.
- ENST00000389093 and ENST00000568883 demonstrated pyruvate kinase activity.
- These transcripts may influence cancer cell metabolism, invasion, and hypoxia response.
Conclusions:
- The study offers a potential explanation for the conflicting prognostic roles of PKM.
- Identified novel PKM transcripts with significant prognostic value and potential oncological functions.
- Highlights the importance of studying alternative splicing variants of PKM in cancer research.
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