Figure - PMC

Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

View full-text article in PMC

. 2020 Oct 17;12(10):3023. doi: 10.3390/cancers12103023

Search in PMC
Search in PubMed
View in NLM Catalog
Add to search

© 2020 by the authors.

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

PMC Copyright notice

NRF2 directs numerous metabolic processes that impact cancer cell survival and proliferation, including NADPH production and the metabolism of lipids, amino acids, nucleotides, and iron/heme (a). These NRF2-regulated metabolic pathways are outlined in (b). NRF2 directs the transcription of numerous genes that encode for metabolic enzymes and transporters, including those involved in the pentose phosphate pathway (G6PD, PGD, TALDO1, TKT), nucleotide biosynthesis (PPAT, MTHFD2), serine/ glycine biosynthesis (PHGDH, PSAT1, SHMT1/2), heme/iron metabolism (FECH, HMOX1, BLVRB1), glutathione synthesis and utilization (TXN, TXNRD1, GSH, GSR, GCLC, GCLM, GPX4), amino acid metabolism (GLS, ASNS, SLC7A11/xCT), NADPH production (ME1, IDH1), and lipid biosynthesis (FAS). Abbreviations: Substrates: G6P, glucose-6-phosphate; R5P, ribose-5-phosphate; PRPP, phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate; IMP, inosine monophosphate; F6P, fructose-6-phosphate; GA3P, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate; 3PG, 3-phosphoglycerate; 3-PHP, 3-phospho-hydroxypyruvate; 3-PS, 3-phosphoserine; 10-Formyl-THF, 10-formyltetrahydrofolate; CO, carbon monoxide; Asp, aspartate; Asn, asparagine; Glu, glutamate; Gly, glycine; ROS, reactive oxygen species; GSH, glutathione; GSSG, glutathione disulfide; TXN, thioredoxin; NADP⁺: nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, oxidized; NADPH: nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced. Enzymes: G6PD, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase; PGD, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase; TALDO1, transaldolase 1; TKT, transketolase; PPAT, phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate amidotransferase; MTHFD2, methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase 2; PHGDH, 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase; PSAT1, phosphoserine aminotransferase 1; SHMT1/2, serine hydroxymethyltransferase; FECH, ferrochelatase; HMOX1, heme oxygenase 1; BLVRB1, biliverdin reductase B 1; ME1, malic enzyme 1; IDH1, isocitrate dehydrogenase1; FAS, fatty acid synthase; GLS, glutaminase; ASNS, asparagine synthetase; TXNRD1, thioredoxin reductase 1; GSR, glutathione reductase; GCLC, glutamate-cysteine-ligase catalytic subunit; GCLM, glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit; GPX4, glutathione peroxidase 4. Other: SLC7A11/xCT: cystine glutamate antiporter.