Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Leukoc Biol. 2019 Feb 21;106(1):105–117. doi: 10.1002/JLB.3MIR1118-415R

Figure 2. Role of Citrate in metabolic reprogramming of myeloid cells.

Figure 2.

Citrate accumulates intracellularly upon myeloid cell activation. Accumulated citrate is transported into the cytosol via mitochondrial citrate carrier (CIC). In the cytosol, citrate is broken down into oxaloacetate and acetyl-CoA. Oxaloacetate is converted to malate via and malate is further converted to pyruvate leading to generation of NADPH as a by-product. NADPH is utilized by NADPH oxidase and inducible nitric oxide synthase to generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and PGE2. The majority of accumulated pyruvate is transported back into the mitochondria to generate citrate for fueling the TCA cycle. Malate can also be transported back into the mitochondria later during inflammation to replenish mitochondrial stores of oxaloacetate and citrate. Furthermore, acetyl-CoA derived from citrate acts either to acetylate substrates or is utilized for fatty acid synthesis in the cytosol.