Correlation of brain amyloid with “aerobic glycolysis”: A question of assumptions?
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: The articles by Vaishnavi et al. (1) and Vlassenko et al. (2) in PNAS demonstrate regional variation in aerobic glycolysis vs. oxidative phosphorylation in the human brain and then link aerobic glycolysis to amyloid β (Aβ) deposition on the basis of concordant spatial distributions in Alzheimer's disease (AD). As referenced in these articles, the molar ratio of O2 to glucose consumption by the brain is never 6 (the ratio for complete oxidation of glucose to CO2 and H2O). Because the experimentally determined molar ratio is normally ≈5.3, the major portion of glucose flux proceeds through the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle to meet the high ATP demands of the brain, as well as other TCA cycle functions. The term “aerobic glycolysis,” as defined by the authors, refers to flux from glucose to pyruvate without entering the TCA cycle, as well as glucose providing substrates for the pentose phosphate shunt and glycogen synthesis, in conditions whereby oxygen availability is not limiting. Although much less energy efficient than mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (36 ATP/glucose), aerobic glycolysis (2 ATP/glucose) can rapidly provide ATP and substrates for biosynthetic pathways.
Authors: Michael E. Phelps, Jorge R. Barrio
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1967385721