Figure 5.

Metabolic pathways in TECs, and parecoxib may regulate VEGF-PFKFB3 pathways. (A) TECs rely on glycolysis instead of oxidative metabolism for ATP production and upregulate PFKFB3 to increase the conversion of glucose into lactate through glycolysis. However, VEGF induces PFKFB3 and increases glycolytic flux, which is required for angiogenesis. (B) Parecoxib inhibits COX-2 function, thereby reducing VEGF production, which reduces PFKFB3 expression and, subsequently, glycolytic flux. TECs, tumor endothelial cells; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; PFKFB3, fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase; COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2; ATP, adenosine triphosphate.