text: Two missense mutations, H391Y and K422R, of PKM2 were found in cells from Bloom syndrome patients prone to developing cancer. Results show that, despite the presence of mutations in the inter-subunit contact domain, the K422R and H391Y mutant proteins maintained their homotetrameric structure, similar to the wild-type protein, but showed a loss of activity of 75 and 20%, respectively. H391Y showed a 6-fold increase in affinity for its substrate phosphoenolpyruvate and behaved like a non-allosteric protein with compromised cooperative binding. However, the affinity for phosphoenolpyruvate was lost significantly in K422R. Unlike K422R, H391Y showed enhanced thermal stability, stability over a range of pH values, a lesser effect of the allosteric inhibitor Phe, and resistance toward structural alteration upon binding of the activator (fructose 1,6-bisphosphate) and inhibitor (Phe). Both mutants showed a slight shift in the pH optimum from 7.4 to 7.0. The co-expression of homotetrameric wild type and mutant PKM2 in the cellular milieu resulting in the interaction between the two at the monomer level was substantiated further by in vitro experiments. The cross-monomer interaction significantly altered the oligomeric state of PKM2 by favoring dimerisation and heterotetramerization. In silico study provided an added support in showing that hetero-oligomerization was energetically favorable. The hetero-oligomeric populations of PKM2 showed altered activity and affinity, and their expression resulted in an increased growth rate of Escherichia coli as well as mammalian cells, along with an increased rate of polyploidy. These features are known to be essential to tumor progression.
  Further, cells stably expressing exogenous wild- or mutant-PKM2 (K422R or H391Y) or co-expressing both wild and mutant (PKM2-K422R or PKM2-H391Y), were assessed for cancer metabolism and tumorigenic potential. Cells co-expressing PKM2 and mutant (K422R or H391Y) showed significantly aggressive cancer metabolism, compared to cells expressing either wild or mutant PKM2 independently. A similar trend was observed for oxidative endurance, tumorigenic potential, cellular proliferation and tumor growth. These observations signify the dominant negative nature of these mutations. Remarkably, PKM2-H391Y co-expressed cells showed a maximal effect on all the studied parameters. Such a dominant negative impaired function of PKM2 in tumor development is not known; also evidencing for the first time the possible predisposition of BS patients with impaired PKM2 activity to cancer, and the importance of studying genetic variations in PKM2 in future to understand their relevance in cancer in general.