Activity of glycolytic enzymes and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in lipoblastic and neurogenic proliferations.

The alterations in specific activity and/or isozyme pattern of hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, enolase, pyruvate kinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were studied in the tissue specimens of 26 patients with lipoblastic tumors and 28 patients with tumors of neurogenic origin. Although the biochemical data demonstrated that the activities of most enzymes studied were elevated in the specimens of the malignant tumors, only the differences in activity of hexokinase, pyruvate kinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase measured between benign and malignant neurogenic tumors were significant. In malignant tumors, especially those of neurogenic origin, the isozyme pattern of pyruvate kinase showed a shift towards K-type subunits.