FIGURE 1.

Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) through induction of aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect). The transformation of glucose to lactate during HSC activation even when amounts of oxygen are available, leads to accumulation of intracellular lactate. Mitochondria may remain functional and some oxidative phosphorylation continue in cells. Aerobic glycolysis is less efficient than oxidative phosphorylation for generating adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP), which suggests that metabolites (for example, lactate) generated by aerobic glycolysis may have a more important role in the regulation of cellular functions than simply energy production during HSC activation.