Hexokinase type II is highly overexpressed in many cancer cells, where it plays a pivotal role in the high glycolytic phenotype. Here we demonstrate by Southern blot analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) that in the rapidly growing rat AS-30D hepatoma cell line, enhanced hexokinase activity is associated with at least a 5-fold amplification of the type II gene relative to normal hepatocytes. This amplification is located chromosomally, extends to the whole gene, and most likely

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... occurs at the site of the resident gene. No rearrangement of the gene could be detected. Therefore, overexpression of hexokinase type II in AS-30D hepatoma cells may be based, at least in part, on a stable gene amplification. This is the first report describing the amplification of a hexokinase gene in a tumor cell line expressing the high glycolytic phenotype.