The basic functions of phosphoglycerate kinase 1 and its roles in cancer and other diseases

Phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) is an essential enzyme that catalyzes adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) production in aerobic glycolysis. In addition to regulating cell metabolism, PGK1 is involved in multiple biological activities, including angiogenesis, mediated autophagy starting, binding of plasminogen, the DNA replication and repair, the proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells, cell invasion (a part of the flagellar axoneme and viral replication and it occurs mainly in protists), and is also associated with resistance to chemotherapy and prognosis of cancer patients. In this review, we focus on the basic functions of PGK1 and the relationship between PGK1 and different diseases, indicating that PGK1 has a broad application prospect to find a potential biomarker for tumor prognosis and an effective inhibitor.