Plasma Pyruvate Kinase M2 as a marker of vascular inflammation in Giant Cell Arteritis

Inflammation markers as CRP/ESR and histological examination of temporal artery biopsies (TABs), in combination with [18F]FDG-PET/CT are used for GCA diagnosis. [18F]FDG-PET/CT relies on increased glucose uptake by metabolically active immune cells. Here, we studied circulating Pyruvate Kinase M2 (PKM2), a glycolytic enzyme, as a possible systemic marker of vessel wall inflammation in GCA.  Our results demonstrated an elevated plasma PKM2 levels may aid disease diagnosis and disease monitoring.

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