HK2 and neoplasm: TNF-α and IL-17 synergistically enhance glycolysis and lactate production in CRC HT-29 cells via activation of the NF-κB axis in tumor cells, and they promote GLUT1 and hexokinase 2 (HK2), as well as expression of the common target genes HIF-1α and c-myc which, in turn, promote tumorigenesis (Straus, 2013).