Library · Physiology
Glucose metabolism
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Glucose is the sugar cells use as fuel. Inside the cell it is the final substrate: whatever gets there usually ends up converted into ATP, the currency the body uses to pay for any job, from moving a muscle to making a hormone.
The process that pulls that energy out is called glycolysis, and it is a chain of ten reactions, one after another. At the end there are two molecules of pyruvic acid and a net gain of two ATP.
Whatever is not burned on the spot is not thrown away. It is stored as glycogen, which is glucose linked into chains, and when it is needed it is released again through a process called glycogenolysis. It is a pantry that fills when there is extra and empties when there is not.
And during starvation the liver makes new glucose from lactate and from amino acids. That is called gluconeogenesis.
In brief
Inside the cell, glucose is usually the final substrate that gets converted into ATP, the body's energy currency.
Glycolysis runs through ten consecutive reactions, ends in two molecules of pyruvic acid and yields a net gain of two ATP.
Glucose that is not burned is stored as glycogen, and glycogenolysis releases it again later.
A pantry that fills when there is extra and empties when there is not.
During starvation the liver makes new glucose from lactate and amino acids: this is gluconeogenesis.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingPhysiology, Glucose Metabolism, StatPearlsPublished
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