Glucose 6 Phosphate Isomerase (GPI)

Glucose-6-phosphate isomerase has an essential function in both catabolic glycolysis and anabolic gluconeogenesis and is universally distributed among Eukaryotes, Bacteria, and some Archaea.GPI is expressed by the corpus luteum on days 6–9 of pregnancy, the time at which implantation-promoting activity has been found in corpora lutea. Passive immunization against GPI reduced the number of implantation sites in pregnant ferrets in a dose-dependent manner. GPI is a multifunctional protein. Although first identified for its role in glycolysis, GPI has since been implicated in neural growth, lymphocyte maturation, and metastasis. This study demonstrates a previously uncharacterized function of this protein that may represent the natural motility-stimulating activity that has been co-opted by tumor cells.