Glycolysis

  • Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C₆H₁₂O₆, into pyruvate, CH₃COCOO⁻ + H⁺. The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules ATP and NADH. Glycolysis is a sequence of ten enzyme-catalyzed reactions.

Hexokinase

  • Found in virtually all cells
  • Not specific to glucose

Glucokinase

  • Glucokinase is an enzyme that facilitates phosphorylation of glucose to glucose-6-phosphate. Glucokinase occurs in cells in the liver and pancreas of humans and most other vertebrates.

Fructose

  • Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a simple ketonic monosaccharide found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galactose, that are absorbed directly into blood during digestion.

Phosphofructokinase

  • Phosphofructokinase is a kinase enzyme that phosphorylates fructose 6-phosphate in glycolysis.

Phosphoenolpyruvate

  • Phosphoenolpyruvate (2-phosphoenolpyruvate, PEP) is the ester derived from the enol of pyruvate and phosphate. It exists as an anion. PEP is an important intermediate in biochemistry. It has the highest-energy phosphate bond found (−61.9 kJ/mol) in organisms, and is involved in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis.

Pyruvate

  • Pyruvate is a versatile biological molecule that consists of three carbon atoms and two functional groups – a carboxylate and a ketone group. Pyruvate is involved in a number of key biochemical processes, including gluconeogenesis, which is the synthesis of glucose, as well as the synthesis of other key biochemicals.

Pyruvate Kinase

  • Pyruvate kinase is the enzyme involved in the last step of glycolysis. It catalyzes the transfer of a phosphate group from phosphoenolpyruvate to adenosine diphosphate, yielding one molecule of pyruvate and one molecule of ATP.

Galactose

  • Galactose is a simple sugar, which belongs to simple carbohydrates. Galactose is composed of the same elements as glucose, but has a different arrangement of atoms. Name origin: From the Greek gala = milk, and -ose, which denotes sugar.

Gluconeogenesis

  • Gluconeogenesis is a metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose from certain non-carbohydrate carbon substrates.

Oxaloacetate

  • Oxaloacetate is an intermediate of the citric acid cycle, where it reacts with acetyl-CoA to form citrate, catalysed by citrate synthase. It is also involved in gluconeogenesis, urea cycle, glyoxylate cycle, amino acid synthesis, and fatty acid synthesis. Oxaloacetate is also a potent inhibitor of Complex II.

Glycogen Metabolism

  • Glycogen metabolism was the first paradigm for the molecular basis of hormone action . In this pathway the control of enzyme activity by an allosteric regulator (activation of phosphorylase by adenosine monophosphate [AMP]) was first described , enzyme regulation by covalent modification was discovered and the molecular basis of hormone action by signal transduction was elucidated by the discovery of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Although the enzyme glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), which phosphorylates and inhibits glycogen synthesis, is a well-known regulator of cardiac growth, its role in intermediary metabolism must not be overlooked.

Glucagon

  • Glucagon is a peptide hormone, produced by alpha cells of the pancreas. It works to raise the concentration of glucose and fatty acids in the bloodstream, and is considered to be the main catabolic hormone of the body. It is also used as a medication to treat a number of health conditions.

Epinephrine

  • Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, is a medication and hormone. As a medication, it is used to treat a number of conditions, including anaphylaxis, cardiac arrest, and superficial bleeding. Inhaled epinephrine may be used to improve the symptoms of croup.

Insulin Signal Transduction Pathway

  • The insulin transduction pathway is a biochemical pathway by which insulin increases the uptake of glucose into fat and muscle cells and reduces the synthesis of glucose in the liver and hence is involved in maintaining glucose homeostasis.

Insulin

  • Insulin is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets; it is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body.

The Pentose Phosphate Pathway

  • The pentose phosphate pathway is a metabolic pathway parallel to glycolysis. It generates NADPH and pentoses as well as ribose 5-phosphate, the last one a precursor for the synthesis of nucleotides. While it does involve oxidation of glucose, its primary role is anabolic rather than catabolic.

Citric Acid Cycle

  • The citric acid cycle – also known as the TCA cycle or the Krebs cycle – is a series of chemical reactions used by all aerobic organisms to release stored energy through the oxidation of acetyl-CoA derived from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, into adenosine triphosphate and carbon dioxide.

Succinate Dehydrogenase

  • Succinate dehydrogenase or succinate-coenzyme Q reductase or respiratory Complex II is an enzyme complex, found in many bacterial cells and in the inner mitochondrial membrane of eukaryotes. It is the only enzyme that participates in both the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain.

Malate Dehydrogenase

  • Malate dehydrogenase is an enzyme that reversibly catalyzes the oxidation of malate to oxaloacetate using the reduction of NAD⁺ to NADH. This reaction is part of many metabolic pathways, including the citric acid cycle.

Glyoxylate Cycle

  • The glyoxylate cycle, a variation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, is an anabolic pathway occurring in plants, bacteria, protists, and fungi. The glyoxylate cycle centers on the conversion of acetyl-CoA to succinate for the synthesis of carbohydrates.

Ketone Body Metabolism

  • Ketone body metabolism includes ketone body synthesis (ketogenesis) and breakdown (ketolysis). When the body goes from the fed to the fasted state the liver switches from an organ of carbohydrate utilization and fatty acid synthesis to one of fatty acid oxidation and ketone body production.