Definition
Hexokinase II (also known as HK II) is an enzyme encoded by the HK II gene, located in human chromosome band 2p13. The protein product of the HK II gene is a hexokinase. HK II is a member of the hexokinase family. The hexokinase family consists of four members, that is, HK I, HK II, HK III, and HK IV. HK II phosphorylates a six-carbon sugar called hexose to a hexose phosphate. Aberrant activation of HK II has been linked with a variety of malignancies, participating as the principal functional isoform in multiple cancer cells. It also contributes to aerobic glycolysis, acting as a pivotal player in an emerging hallmark of cancer, the Warburg effect (Hanahan and Weinberg 2011). HK II is proposed to be a metabolic target for cancer therapeutic development.
Characteristics
Tissue Expression of Hexokinase II
In humans, there are four hexokinase isoforms, HK I, HK II, HK III, and HK IV, encoded by different genes and located at separate positions that are on...
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References
Ahn KJ et al (2009) Evaluation of the role of hexokinase type II in cellular proliferation and apoptosis using human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. J Nucl Med 50(9):1525–1532
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Jiang S et al (2012) A novel miR-155/miR-143 cascade controls glycolysis by regulating hexokinase 2 in breast cancer cells. EMBO J 31(8):1985–1998
Kriegel TM et al (1994) In vivo phosphorylation site of hexokinase 2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biochemistry 33(1):148–152
Warburg O (1956) On the origin of cancer cells. Science 123(3191):309–314
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Jiang, S. (2015). Hexokinase 2. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7115-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7115-1
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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