FIGURE 1.

Glucose metabolism pathways in mammalian cells. Glucose serves as the fundamental substrate for bioenergy production, primarily through glycolysis and the citric acid cycle. During glycolysis, glucose is catabolized into pyruvate in the cytosol. Under anaerobic conditions, pyruvate is further converted to lactate. Conversely, in the presence of oxygen, pyruvate enters the mitochondria where it undergoes the citric acid cycle. Additionally, the pentose phosphate pathway, a branch metabolic pathway from glycolysis, is responsible for producing NADPH and supplying base metabolites for nucleotide synthesis.