Fig. 1

Different glucose metabolic pathways between tumor cells and normal cells. Most nonproliferating normal cells transport glucose into cells through GLUTs by acquiring oxygen molecules, which are then decompose through glycolysis and the TCA cycle. In the last step of glycolysis, the existence of pyruvate kinase M1 isoforms ensures that the product pyruvate is transported to mitochondria, where it is then oxidized in the process of PDH to produce acetyl coenzyme A and enter the TCA cycle. In tumor cells, GLUT1 and 3 transport a large amount of glucose into the cytoplasm for glycolysis even in tumor cells with adequate oxygen supply. It relies on the pyruvate kinase M2 isoform to convert pyruvate into the substrate of LDHA, producing a large amount of lactic acid and secreting the extracellular matrix. Since only a small amount of glucose is transported to the mitochondria for decomposition, each glucose molecule is decomposed to fewer ATP molecules. GLUT, glucose transporter; HK, hexokinase; GCK, glucokinase; ATP, adenosine triphosphate; ADP, adenosine diphosphate; Glucose-6P, Glucose 6-phosphate; Fructose-6P, fructose-6-phosphate; PFKFB1-4, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase; Fructose-1,6-biP, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate; Fructose-2,6-biP, fructose-2,6-bisphosphate; PFK1, phosphofructokinase 1; ALDO, aldolase; DHAP, dihydroxyacetone-phosphate; GA3P, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde- 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; GAPDH, Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase; 1,3BPG, 1,3-Bisphosphoglyceric acid; 3PG, 3-Phosphoglyceric acid; LDH, Lactate dehydrogenase; MPC, 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine; OAA, oxaloacetate; Suc-CoA, Succinyl-CoA; α-KG, α-ketoglutarate; Acetyl-CoA, acetyl coenzyme A; MCT4, MCT, monocarboxylate transporter 4; TCA, tricarboxylic acid