High Glycolysis in Gliomas Despite Low Hexokinase Transcription and Activity Correlated to Chromosome 10 Loss

Loss of chromosome 10 was observed in 10 out of 12 xenografted glioblastomas studied. Chromosome 10 carries the gene coding the hexokinase type 1 isoenzyme (HK-I), which catalyses the first step of glycolysis, which is essential in brain tissue and glioblastomas. We investigated the relationships between the relative chromosome 10 number, the amount of HK-I mRNA, HK-I activity and its intracellular distribution, and glycolysis-related parameters such as the lactate-pyruvate ratio, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and ATP contents. Individual tumour HK-I mRNA amounts were 23-65% lower than that of normal human brain and reflected the relative decrease of chromosome 10 number (alpha < 0.01). Total HK activities of individual glioblastomas varied considerably but were constantly (a mean of seven times) lower than that of normal brain tissue. The mitochondria-bound HK-I fraction of individual tumours was generally over 50%, compared with that of normal brain tissue. As shown by lactate - pyruvate ratios, in all the gliomas, glycolysis was elevated to an average of 3-fold that measured in normal brain. An elevated ATP content was also constantly noted. Adaptation of glioblastoma metabolism to the chromosome 10 loss and to the HK-I transcription unit emphasises the critical role of glycolysis in their survival. We hypothesise that HK-I, the enzyme responsible for initiating glycolysis necessary for brain function, may approach its lowest limit in gliomas, thereby opening therapeutic access to pharmacological anti-metabolites affecting energy metabolism and tumour growth.