Phosphofructokinase Platelet Overexpression Accelerated Colorectal Cancer Cell Growth and Motility

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Oncology

Background:

• Glycolysis is a key metabolic pathway supporting cancer cell growth.
• Phosphofructokinase platelet (PFKP) regulates glycolysis and is implicated in cancer progression.
• The role of PFKP in colorectal cancer (CRC) pathogenesis was previously unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the expression and clinical significance of PFKP in colorectal cancer (CRC).
• To elucidate the functional role of PFKP in CRC cell proliferation, cell cycle, and invasion.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of PFKP expression in CRC cell lines and clinical samples using real-time PCR and Western blot.
• Bioinformatic analysis of public databases (The Cancer Genome Atlas).
• In vitro functional assays including cell proliferation, colony formation, invasion, and cell cycle analysis after PFKP knockdown.

Main Results:

• PFKP was significantly overexpressed in CRC tissues and cell lines.
• High PFKP expression correlated with worse disease-specific survival (DSS) and overall survival (OS) in CRC patients.
• PFKP knockdown suppressed CRC cell proliferation, colony formation, and invasion, and induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest.

Conclusions:

• PFKP overexpression drives CRC growth and invasion by regulating cell cycle progression.
• PFKP serves as a potential prognostic biomarker for CRC.
• PFKP represents a promising therapeutic target for colorectal cancer treatment.