Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.13.3 (histidine kinase)
 2,405 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The phosphorylation of glucose, a crucial step in cellular metabolism, is catalysed by hexokinases (HK), of which there are four (HKI-IV) in mammalian tissues. The brain HK, (HK1), like HKII and HKIII, has a molecular weight of approximately 100 kDa. HKII is insulin-sensitive and found in adipose and muscle cells. HKIV, also known as glucokinase, has a molecular weight of 50 kDa and is specific to liver and pancreas. Most brain HK is bound to mitochondria via porins, enabling coordination between glucose consumption and oxidation. Tumour cells are known to be highly glycolytic, and correspondingly increased expression of glycolytic enzymes, including HK, have been detected in resected tumours from patients with lung, gastrointestinal and breast cancer. In the latter group, further increases in HK activity were associated with metastatic disease. Some studies have demonstrated increased HK activity in renal tumours, and also have reported changes in the isoenzymic expression of HK. Experimental studies of the initiation and progression of liver tumours have demonstrated a shift in expression from that of HKIV to HKI and HKII, with increased HK binding to mitochondria and a > 100-fold increase in HK activity. However, studies using xenografts derived from gliomas found decreased HK activity corresponding with loss of chromosome 10, the carrier of the HKI gene. Compared with normal tissues, a number of mechanisms are associated with changes in HK activity seen in tumours of the liver and other sites, and these include HK gene dosage, increased transcription, modulation of HK promoter activity by a broader range of effectors, and increased mitochondrial binding of HK. Increased HK activity, together with increased glucose transport by tumour cells, has been exploited in cancer imaging using the positron-labelled glucose analogue (18F)fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG), which is transported into cells and then phosphorylated, but undergoes little further metabolism. Accumulated FDG then can be detected using positron emission tomography (PET).
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PMID:Mammalian hexokinases and their abnormal expression in cancer. 1091 95

Hexokinase is the first enzyme in the glycolytic pathway and utilizes ATP to convert glucose to glucose-6-phosphate (G6P). We previously identified three variant transcripts of Hk1 that are expressed specifically in spermatogenic cells, have different 5' untranslated regions, and encode a protein (HK1S, spermatogenic cell-specific type 1 hexokinase) in which the porin-binding domain (PBD) of HK1 is replaced by a novel N-terminal spermatogenic cell-specific region (SSR). However, the level of expression of the individual variant transcripts or of the other members of the hexokinase gene family (Hk2, Hk3, and Gck) in spermatogenic cells remains uncertain. We show that Hk1, Hk2, and Hk3 transcripts levels are quite low in spermatocytes and spermatids and Gck transcripts are relatively abundant in spermatids, but that glucokinase (GCK) is not detected in spermatozoa. Using real time RT-PCR (qPCR) with primers specific for each of the three variant forms and RNA from whole testis and isolated germ cells, we found that transcripts for Hk1_v2 and Hk1_v3, but not for Hk1_v1, are relatively high in spermatids. Similar results were seen using spermatogenic cells isolated by laser-capture microdissection (LCM). Immunoblotting studies found that HK1S is abundant in sperm, and immunostaining confirmed that HK1S is located mainly in the principal piece of the sperm flagellum, where other spermatogenic cell-specific glycolytic enzymes have been found. These results strongly suggest that HK1, HK2, HK3, and GCK are unlikely to have a role in glycolysis in sperm and that HK1S encoded by Hk1_v2 and Hk1_v3 serves this role.
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PMID:Spermatogenic cell-specific type 1 hexokinase is the predominant hexokinase in sperm. 1792

Although the incidence of de novo neuroendocrine prostate cancer (PC) is rare, recent data suggest that low expression of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is associated with a spectrum of neuroendocrine hallmarks and androgen receptor (AR) suppression in PC. Previous clinical reports indicate that PCs with a phenotype similar to neuroendocrine tumors can be more amenable to imaging by 18F-FDG than by PSMA-targeting radioligands. In this study, we evaluated the association between neuroendocrine gene signature and 18F-FDG uptake-associated genes including glucose transporters (GLUTs) and hexokinases, with the goal of providing a genomic signature to explain the reported 18F-FDG avidity of PSMA-suppressed tumors. Methods: Data-mining approaches, cell lines, and patient-derived xenograft models were used to study the levels of 14 members of the SLC2A family (encoding GLUT proteins), 4 members of the hexokinase family (genes HK1-HK3 and GCK), and PSMA (FOLH1 gene) after AR inhibition and in correlation with neuroendocrine hallmarks. Also, we characterize a neuroendocrine-like PC (NELPC) subset among a cohort of primary and metastatic PC samples with no neuroendocrine histopathology. We measured glucose uptake in a neuroendocrine-induced in vitro model and a zebrafish model by nonradioactive imaging of glucose uptake using a fluorescent glucose bioprobe, GB2-Cy3. Results: This work demonstrated that a neuroendocrine gene signature associates with differential expression of genes encoding GLUT and hexokinase proteins. In NELPC, elevated expression of GCK (encoding glucokinase protein) and decreased expression of SLC2A12 correlated with earlier biochemical recurrence. In tumors treated with AR inhibitors, high expression of GCK and low expression of SLC2A12 correlated with neuroendocrine histopathology and PSMA gene suppression. GLUT12 suppression and upregulation of glucokinase were observed in neuroendocrine-induced PC cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models. A higher glucose uptake was confirmed in low-PSMA tumors using a GB2-Cy3 probe in a zebrafish model. Conclusion: A neuroendocrine gene signature in neuroendocrine PC and NELPC associates with a distinct transcriptional profile of GLUTs and hexokinases. PSMA suppression correlates with GLUT12 suppression and glucokinase upregulation. Alteration of 18F-FDG uptake-associated genes correlated positively with higher glucose uptake in AR- and PSMA-suppressed tumors. Zebrafish xenograft tumor models are an accurate and efficient preclinical method for monitoring nonradioactive glucose uptake.
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PMID:Differential Expression of Glucose Transporters and Hexokinases in Prostate Cancer with a Neuroendocrine Gene Signature: A Mechanistic Perspective for 18F-FDG Imaging of PSMA-Suppressed Tumors. 3180 71