Figure 2.

Glucose metabolism in cancer cells. When glucose enters the cell via glycolysis, it is phosphorylated by HK to glucose-6 phosphate, which is then converted by glycolysis to pyruvate in the cytosol. Under an aerobic environment, normal cells employ pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) to convert the majority of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA. The acetyl-CoA is subsequently oxidized via the TCA cycle, providing sources of ATP production. On the contrary, the molecular mechanisms of glucose consumption in cancer are switched from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis. Furthermore, cancer cells require the creation of new macromolecules to proliferate (for example, nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins). Critical enzymes which might be viable targets for cancer treatment are indicated in orange. TCA enzymes iso-citrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), and fumarate hydratase (FH) which are known to be mutated in cancer are depicted in red within the mitochondrion.