The rates of utilization of both glucose and glutamine are high in rapidly dividing ceils such as enterocytes, lymphocytes, thymocytes, tumour cells; the oxidation of both glucose and glutamine is only partial, glucose to lactate and glutamine to glutamate, alanine or aspartate; and these partial processes are termed glycolysis and glutaminolysis respectively. Both processes generate energy and also provide precursors for important biosynthetic processes in such cells. However, the rates of utilization of precursors for macromolecular biosynthesis are very low in comparison to the rates oi partial oxidation, and energy generation per se may not be the correct explanation for high rates of glycolysis and glutaminolysis in these cells since oxidation is only partial and other fuels can be used to generate energy. Both the high fluxes and the metabolic characteristics of these two processes can be explained by application of quantitative principles of control as applied to branched metabolic pathway s (Crabtree & Newsholme, 1985). If the flux through one branch is greatly in excess of the other, then the sensitivity of the flux of the low-flux pathway to regulators is very high. Hence, it is suggested that, in rapidly dividing ceils, high rates of glycolysis and gtutaminolysis are required not for energy or precursor provision per se but for high sensitivity of the pathways involved in the use of precursors for macromolecular synthesis to specific regulators to permithigh rates of proliferation when required for example, in lymphocytes in response to a massive infection.
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May 01 1985
The role of high rates of glycolysis and glutamine utilization in rapidly dividing cells
E. A. Newsholme;
E. A. Newsholme
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, England
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B. Crabtree;
B. Crabtree
2Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland
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M. S. M. Ardawi
M. S. M. Ardawi
3Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Allied Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 9029, Jeddah 21413, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
March 13 1985
Online ISSN: 1573-4935
Print ISSN: 0144-8463
© 1985 The Biochemical Society
1985
Biosci Rep (1985) 5 (5): 393–400.
Article history
Received:
March 13 1985
Citation
E. A. Newsholme, B. Crabtree, M. S. M. Ardawi; The role of high rates of glycolysis and glutamine utilization in rapidly dividing cells. Biosci Rep 1 May 1985; 5 (5): 393–400. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01116556
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