Pyruvate kinase plays a pivotal role in regulating cell metabolism. The final and rate-limiting step of glycolysis is the conversion of Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to Pyruvate, which is catalyzed by Pyruvate Kinase. There are four isomeric, tissue-specific forms of Pyruvate Kinase found in mammals: PKL, PKR, PKM1, and PKM2. PKM1 and PKM2 are formed bya single mRNA transcript of the PKM gene by alternative splicing. The oligomers of PKM2 exist in high activity tetramer and low activity dimer forms. The dimer PKM2 regulates the rate-limiting step of glycolysis that shifts the glucose metabolism from the normal respiratory chain to lactate production in tumor cells. Besides its role as a metabolic regulator, it also acts as protein kinase, which contributes to tumorigenesis. This review is focused on the metabolic role of pyruvate kinase M2 in normal cells vs. cancerous cells and its regulation at the transcriptional level. The review also highlights the role of PKM2 as a potential diagnostic marker and as a therapeutic target in cancer treatment.

Objective-To comparatively evaluate a new nested set of primers designed for the detection of H.pylori targeting a highly conserved heat shock protein gene (Hsp60).Methods-A total of 60 subjects having peptic ulcer diseases were tested for the detection of H.pylori using rapid urease test (RUT), histology, culture and PCR in their antral biopsy specimens. A newly designed Hsp60 gene based primers set was evaluated against commonly used PCR primers for detection of H.pylori.Results-Forty six of the 60 study subjects were found positive for culture isolation and all the 46 culture positive specimens were also positive with Hsp60 gene PCR. Of the 46 culture positive specimens, 44 were positive for 16S r RNA gene, ureC gene, RUT and histology while only 29 were positive with ureA gene PCR. Of the 14 culture negative subject, 10 were positive with 16S r RNA gene , 4 were positive with ureC (glmM) gene PCR and 2 were positive with RUT and 1 was positive on histology.Conclusion-This study shows that nested amplification targeting Hsp60 gene is the most sensitive and specific with LR + and LR − values of ∞ and 0 respectively when compared with the other 3 PCR methods. Also HSP60 gene specific nested protocol was the most appropriate for detection of H. pylori in clinical specimens. This is particularly valuable because it can be used as a non invasive method for detecting H. pylori infection in young children and also, in follow-up studies with peptic ulcer patients, on samples like feces and saliva.

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