Background
Phosphoglucomutases (PGMs) are a group of important enzymes in glucose metabolism. The PGM family play roles in a variety of cancers, but we still lack a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the PGM family and pan-cancer.
Methods
We extracted data from the Cancer Genome Atlas, Oncomine, Human Protein Atlas, and Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia databases. The R language was mainly used for analysis.
Results
The PGM1 and PGM5 genes both show low expression in breast cancer, colon cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The expression of PGMs is related to signal transduction pathways, such as protein secretion, ultraviolet (UV) response, and DNA repair pathways, and the infiltration of immune cells such as naive B cells, activated natural killer cells, and resting mast cells in cancers. PGM5 is associated with a higher survival rate in clear-cell renal carcinoma and cervical cancer and a lower survival rate in squamous-cell lung cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. The copy number variation of PGMs have a broad impact on their expression. In breast cancer, colon cancer, and other cancers, PGM1 is upregulated when it has a higher copy number. Genetic variations in PGMs have adverse effects on the prognosis of various types of cancers. PGM5 mutations in liver cancer and sarcoma and PGM1 copy number deletion in cholangiocarcinoma are all risk factors for those cancers. The qRT-PCR experiments verified the higher expression of PGM2L1 and the lower expression of PGM5 in gastric cancer, and the lower expression of PGM1 and PGM5 in colorectal cancer.
Conclusion
The expression of PGMs is heterogeneous in cancer tissues and is associated with cancer activation pathways as well as immune cell infiltration. The expression of PGMs can affect the prognosis of a variety of cancers. Mutation or copy number variation of PGMs will affect their expression in cancers, as well as the cancer prognosis. These findings provide a foundation for investigating the role of PGMs in the prediction/diagnosis/prognosis of cancers and provide new clues for finding targets for cancer treatment.