ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of α-enolase (ENO1) in regulating glucose metabolism and cell growth in human glioma cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Glucose uptake and lactate generation were assessed to evaluate the changes in glucose metabolism in human glioma U251 cells with small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated ENO1 knockdown. MTT assay and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining were used to examine the cell growth and cell cycle changes following siRNA transfection of the cells.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Transfection of U251 cells with siRNA-ENO1 markedly reduced glucose uptake (P=0.023) and lactate generation (P=0.007) in the cells and resulted in significant suppression of cell proliferation (*P<0.05) since the second day following the transfection. Transfection with siRNA-ENO1 also obviously suppressed cell cycle G1/S transition in the cells (P=0.0425). The expressions of HK2 and LDHA, the marker genes for glucose metabolism, were significantly down-regulated in the cells with siRNA-mediated ENO1 knockdown.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ENO1 as a potential oncogene promotes glioma cell growth by positively modulating glucose metabolism.</p>