Background |
PKM2, also known as pyruvate kinase muscle isozyme (PKM), pyruvate kinase type K, cytosolic thyroid hormone-binding protein (CTHBP), thyroid hormone - binding protein 1 (THBP1), or opa-interacting protein 3 (OIP3), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the PKM2 gene. PKM2 is an isoenzyme of the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase. Depending upon the different metabolic functions of the tissues, different isoenzymes of pyruvate kinase are expressed. PKM2 is expressed in some differentiated tissues, such as lung, fat tissue, retina, and pancreatic islets, as well as in all cells with a high rate of nucleic acid synthesis, such as normal proliferating cells, embryonic cells, and especially tumor cells. |