Enzymology of Cancer Cells

Abstract

Carbohydrate Metabolism — Imbalance in Cancer Cells (Fig. 5)Liver and hepatomas are freely permeable to glucose; thus, the activity and concentration of competing enzyme systems (in the presence of cofactors) determine the fate of the hexose. The catabolic pathway of glucose, glycolysis, is opposed by the synthetic pathway of glucose production, gluconeogenesis. The three key enzymes of glycolysis (glucokinase, phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase) are opposed by the four key gluconeogenic enzymes (glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose 1,6-diphosphatase [FDPase], phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and pyruvate carboxylase). The concept of key enzymes was developed from observations that the rate and direction of the opposing pathways of . . .