Study On The Relationship Between Pyruvate Kinase M2 And Differentiation And Prognosis Of Esophageal Squamous Cell

Purpose:To investigate the M2type of pyruvate kinase (PKM2)’s expression in esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) and its correlation with clinical features and prognosis.Methods:The PKM2’s expressions in the tumor tissues resected in the surgeries of our department from ESCC patients in2006were measured by immunohistochemical staining, and some of the adjacent normal tissues were also tested. Then correlations were counted among PKM2’s expression and many clinical features and prognosis. Three chemicals were used to induce ESCC cells’differentiation and PKM2’s expression were examined to confirm the relationship of PKM2and the differentiation.Results:We observed that the expression of PKM2was much higher in ESCC than in control normal tissue, and it is highly associated with T, tumor stage, recurrence and prognosis. Specially, we found that the expression of PKM2was closely related to the differentiation state of ESCC, and we further confirmed this discovery in vitro.Conclusion:Out data indicated that PKM2might be a useful indicator for determining the survival of patients with ESCC. Considering previous researches on the link among PKM2, Warburg effect, and differentiation, our study inferred the direct roles of PKM2and Warburg effect in the differentiation of cancer cells rather than only providing synthetic intermediates for the promotion of cancer’s progression.