EXPRESSION AND CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF GLYCEROL KINASE (GK) IN ESOPHAGEAL CARCINOMA

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the expression of glycerol kinase (GK) in esophageal carcinoma tissues and cell lines, and to explore its correlation with clinical characteristics and patient prognosis. Methods: Public databases (TCGA, GTEx) and clinical specimens were used to validate GK expression in esophageal carcinoma tissues. The KYSE150 cell line was selected for GK knockdown experiments. Cell proliferation and migration were assessed using CCK-8 and Transwell assays, respectively. R language was employed to analyze correlations between GK expression and immune checkpoint molecules, as well as the tumor immune microenvironment. Results: GK mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly elevated in esophageal carcinoma tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Patients with high GK expression had significantly shorter overall survival than those with low expression. Clinical analysis revealed that high GK expression was strongly associated with distant metastasis and tumor recurrence. In vitro experiments demonstrated that GK knockdown suppressed proliferation and migration of esophageal carcinoma cells. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that high GK expression correlated with upregulation of immune checkpoint molecules (e.g., CD274, CTLA4, LAG3) and reduced infiltration of CD8+ T cells. Conclusion: GK is highly expressed in esophageal carcinoma and promotes malignant progression by enhancing tumor cell proliferation, migration, and participation in an immunosuppressive microenvironment. GK may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.