PKM2 Cancer Research Results

PKM2, Pyruvate Kinase, Muscle 2: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type: enzyme
PKM2 (Pyruvate Kinase, Muscle 2) is an enzyme that plays a crucial role in glycolysis, the process by which cells convert glucose into energy. PKM2 is a key regulatory enzyme in the glycolytic pathway, and it is primarily expressed in various tissues, including muscle, brain, and cancer cells.
-C-myc is a common oncogene that enhances aerobic glycolysis in the cancer cells by transcriptionally activating GLUT1, HK2, PKM2 and LDH-A
-PKM2 has been shown to be overexpressed in many types of tumors, including breast, lung, and colon cancer. This overexpression may contribute to the development and progression of cancer by promoting glycolysis and energy production in cancer cells.
-inhibition of PKM2 may cause ATP depletion and inhibiting glycolysis.
-PK exists in four isoforms: PKM1, PKM2, PKR, and PKL
-PKM2 plays a role in the regulation of glucose metabolism in diabetes.
-PKM2 is involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, apoptosis, and autophagy.
– Pyruvate kinase catalyzes the final, rate-limiting step of glycolysis, converting phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to pyruvate with the production of ATP.
– The PKM2 isoform is uniquely regulated and can exist in both highly active tetrameric and less active dimeric forms.
– Cancer cells often favor the dimeric form of PKM2 to slow pyruvate production, thereby accumulating upstream glycolytic intermediates that can be diverted into anabolic pathways to support cell growth and proliferation.
– Under low oxygen conditions, cancer cells rely on altered metabolic pathways in which PKM2 is a key player. – The shift to aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect) orchestrated in part by PKM2 helps tumor cells survive and grow in hypoxic conditions.

– Elevated expression of PKM2 is frequently observed in many cancer types, including lung, breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers.
– High levels of PKM2 are often correlated with enhanced tumor aggressiveness, poor differentiation, and advanced clinical stage.

PKM2 in carcinogenesis and oncotherapy

Inhibitors of PKM2:
-Shikonin, Resveratrol, Baicalein, EGCG, Apigenin, Curcumin, Ursolic Acid, Citrate (best known as an allosteric inhibitor of phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK-1), a key rate-limiting enzyme in glycolysis) potential to directly inhibit or modulate PKM2 is less well established

Full List of PKM2 inhibitors from Database
-key connected observations: Glycolysis↓, lactateProd↓, ROS↑ in cancer cell, while some result for opposite effect on normal cells.
Tumor pyruvate kinase M2 modulators

Flavonoids effect on PKM2
Compounds name IC50/AC50uM Effect
Flavonols
1. Fisetin 0.90uM Inhibition
2. Rutin 7.80uM Inhibition
3. Galangin 8.27uM Inhibition
4. Quercetin 9.24uM Inhibition
5. Kaempferol 9.88uM Inhibition
6. Morin hydrate 37.20uM Inhibition
7. Myricetin 0.51uM Activation
8. Quercetin 3-b- D-glucoside 1.34uM Activation
9. Quercetin 3-D -galactoside 27-107uM Ineffective
Flavanons
10. Neoeriocitrin 0.65uM Inhibition
11. Neohesperidin 14.20uM Inhibition
12. Naringin 16.60uM Inhibition
13. Hesperidin 17.30uM Inhibition
14. Hesperitin 29.10uM Inhibition
15. Naringenin 70.80uM Activation
Flavanonols
16. (-)-Catechin gallateuM 0.85 Inhibition
17. (±)-Taxifolin 1.16uM Inhibition
18. (-)-Epicatechin 1.33uM Inhibition
19. (+)-Gallocatechin 4-16uM Ineffective
Phenolic acids
20. Ferulic 11.4uM Inhibition
21. Syringic and 13.8uM Inhibition
22. Caffeic acid 36.3uM Inhibition
23. 3,4-Dihydroxybenzoic acid 78.7uM Inhibition
24. Gallic acid 332.6uM Inhibition
25. Shikimic acid 990uM Inhibition
26. p-Coumaric acid 22.2uM Activation
27. Sinapinic acids 26.2uM Activation
28. Vanillic 607.9uM Activation


IBD, Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Click to Expand ⟱
Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The main pathways involved in IBD include intestinal barrier dysfunction, mucus barrier impairment, dysbiosis-driven innate immune activation, and persistent cytokine-mediated inflammation. Key barrier components such as ZO-1, occludin, claudins, and MUC2 are commonly disrupted, increasing epithelial permeability and microbial translocation. This promotes activation of inflammatory hubs including TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-1β, IL-6/STAT3, and IL-23/Th17, while JAK/STAT signaling integrates multiple cytokine inputs that sustain chronic mucosal injury. Together, these pathways drive epithelial damage, immune dysregulation, and failure of mucosal healing in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease

Rank Pathway / Axis Representative Targets / Markers Typical Direction in IBD Main Relevance
1 Intestinal Barrier Integrity / Tight Junctions ZO-1 (TJP1), Occludin (OCLN), Claudins (especially CLDN2, CLDN1) ZO-1 ↓, OCLN ↓, barrier loosened; CLDN2 often ↑ Core barrier failure increases intestinal permeability, microbial entry, and chronic inflammation
2 Mucus Barrier / Goblet Cell Axis MUC2, goblet cells, antimicrobial peptides MUC2 and goblet protection often impaired Weak mucus defense exposes the epithelium to luminal bacteria and antigens
3 TNF-α Inflammatory Axis TNF-α, TNFR1, TNFR2 Major inflammatory driver and validated therapeutic target in IBD
4 NF-κB Signaling NF-κB, IKK, IκB, COX-2, iNOS Central transcriptional hub for cytokines, chemokines, and inflammatory amplification
5 IL-23 / Th17 Axis IL-23, IL-23R, IL-17A, IL-22, RORγt ↑ / dysregulated Important bridge between innate and adaptive immune inflammation
6 JAK / STAT Signaling JAK1, JAK2, TYK2, STAT3 ↑ / activated Integrates multiple cytokine signals that sustain mucosal inflammation
7 IL-6 / STAT3 Axis IL-6, IL-6R, gp130, STAT3 Supports inflammatory persistence, immune-cell survival, and epithelial injury signaling
8 IL-1β / Inflammasome Axis IL-1β, NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1 Promotes innate inflammation, cytokine escalation, and epithelial damage
9 Microbiota / Dysbiosis / PRR Signaling Dysbiosis, TLRs, MyD88, LPS-related signaling Dysregulated / activated Links altered microbiota to barrier loss and immune activation
10 Oxidative Stress / Redox Imbalance ROS, lipid peroxidation, MPO, antioxidant defenses ↑ oxidative stress Contributes to epithelial injury, inflammatory signaling, and impaired healing
11 Leukocyte Trafficking / Adhesion Integrins, MAdCAM-1, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, chemokines Drives immune-cell recruitment into inflamed intestinal tissue
12 Epithelial Apoptosis / Restitution / Mucosal Healing Caspases, repair pathways, epithelial proliferation and restitution markers Injury ↑, healing impaired Determines whether mucosal damage resolves or progresses to chronic disease
Rank Natural Product Best Fit in IBD Evidence Level Main Rationale Notes
1 Curcumin Mainly Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Best human evidence Strongest overall adjunctive clinical support among common natural products for active UC Anti-inflammatory; NF-κB / cytokines / oxidative stress; mucosal support
2 Indigo naturalis (Qing Dai) Mainly UC Strong efficacy, safety-limited Good human efficacy signals, but safety concerns lower practical rank Anti-colitic; immune/inflammatory modulation; use caution flag for safety
3 Boswellia serrata UC / colitis Older smaller human trials Suggestive remission data and anti-inflammatory relevance, but evidence base is limited 5-LOX / leukotrienes / inflammation / mucosal protection
4 Aloe vera gel Mild-to-moderate UC Small human trial signal Some human improvement signal, though not as strong as curcumin or indigo naturalis Mucosal soothing / anti-inflammatory / healing support
5 Andrographis paniculata / andrographolide Mostly UC Mixed human, stronger preclinical Mechanistically promising, but human benefit is less consistent NF-κB / cytokines / barrier and anti-inflammatory support
6 Carvacrol Experimental colitis / dysbiosis / barrier dysfunction Preclinical Promising anti-colitis terpene with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and microbiota-related effects Dysbiosis / intestinal barrier integrity / NF-κB / oxidative stress
7 Thymol Experimental colitis / barrier dysfunction Preclinical Promising anti-colitis terpene with cytokine suppression and NF-κB-related effects Dysbiosis / intestinal barrier integrity / NF-κB / COX-2 / oxidative stress
8 Carvacrol + Thymol Experimental colitis, dysbiosis, bile-acid modulation Preclinical, mechanistically strong Combination may be especially relevant due to microbiota and bile-acid pathway effects in DSS colitis Bifidobacterium / secondary bile acids / barrier support / anti-colitic signaling
9 Peppermint oil Supportive / experimental colitis / GI symptom relief Mainly preclinical for IBD; stronger IBS evidence Menthol-rich oil with anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and possible barrier-supportive effects, but limited direct human IBD evidence Menthol / TRP modulation / cytokines / oxidative stress / GI symptom support


Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
3040- SK,    Pharmacological Properties of Shikonin – A Review of Literature since 2002
- Review, Var, NA - Review, IBD, NA - Review, Stroke, NA
*Half-Life↝, *BioAv↓, *BioAv↑, *BioAv↑, *Inflam↓, *TNF-α↓, *other↑, *MPO↓, *COX2↓, *NF-kB↑, *STAT3↑, *antiOx↑, *ROS↓, *neuroP↑, *SOD↑, *Catalase↑, *GPx↑, *Bcl-2↑, *BAX↓, cardioP↑, AntiCan↑, NF-kB↓, ROS↑, PKM2↓, TumCCA↑, Necroptosis↑, Apoptosis↑, DNAdam↑, MMP↓, Cyt‑c↑, LDH↝,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 1 of 1

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 1

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

ROS↑, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics

MMP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis

LDH↝, 1,   PKM2↓, 1,  

Cell Death

Apoptosis↑, 1,   Cyt‑c↑, 1,   Necroptosis↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair

DNAdam↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence

TumCCA↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

NF-kB↓, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers

LDH↝, 1,  

Functional Outcomes

AntiCan↑, 1,   cardioP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 13

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress

antiOx↑, 1,   Catalase↑, 1,   GPx↑, 1,   MPO↓, 1,   ROS↓, 1,   SOD↑, 1,  

Cell Death

BAX↓, 1,   Bcl-2↑, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics

other↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State

STAT3↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling

COX2↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 1,   NF-kB↑, 1,   TNF-α↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance

BioAv↓, 1,   BioAv↑, 2,   Half-Life↝, 1,  

Functional Outcomes

neuroP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 18

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: PKM2, Pyruvate Kinase, Muscle 2
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells
Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:58  Cells:%  prod#:%  Target#:772  State#:%  Dir#:1
wNotes=0 sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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