Brief Definit ive Report

Although much effort in the field of oncology has focused on canonical oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, the importance of cancer cell metabolism is growing in appreciation (DeBerardinis et al., 2008; Vander Heiden et al., 2009). Known as the Warburg effect (Warburg 1956), this reprogramming of gene expression that alters glucose metabolism enables cells to suppress apoptotic signaling, to grow in hypoxic environments, and to use more glucose for anabolic processes rather than oxidative phos-phorylation, even when oxygen is not limiting (Ferguson and Rathmell, 2008). Pyruvate kinase (PK) catalyzes the conver-sion of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and ADP t