Journal Article

Exploring glycolytic enzymes in disease: potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets in neurodegeneration, cancer and parasitic infections

Quiñones, Wilfredo, Andrade-Alviárez, Diego, Rojas-Pirela, Maura, Marcos, Miguel, Pérez-Nieto, María Á., Salete-Granado, Daniel, Chacón-Arnaude, Marirene, Concepción, Juan Luis, Kemmerling, Ulrike, Michels, Paul A. M., Rojas, Verónica

2025

Overview

Glycolysis, present in most organisms, is evolutionarily one of the oldest metabolic pathways. It has great relevance at a physiological level because it is responsible for generating ATP in the cell through the conversion of glucose into pyruvate and reducing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) (that may be fed into the electron chain in the mitochondria to produce additional ATP by oxidative phosphorylation), as well as for producing intermediates that can serve as substrates for other metabolic processes. Glycolysis takes place through 10 consecutive chemical reactions, each of which is catalysed by a specific enzyme. Although energy transduction by glucose metabolism is the main function of this pathway, involvement in virulence, growth, pathogen–host interactions, immunomodulation and adaptation to environmental conditions are other functions attributed to this metabolic pathway. In humans, where glycolysis occurs mainly in the cytosol, the mislocalization of some glycolytic enzymes in various other subcellular locations, as well as alterations in their expression and regulation, has been associated with the development and progression of various diseases. In this review, we describe the role of glycolytic enzymes in the pathogenesis of diseases of clinical interest. In addition, the potential role of these enzymes as targets for drug development and their potential for use as diagnostic and prognostic markers of some pathologies are also discussed.

• Publisher: The Royal Society,The Royal Society Publishing
• Subject: Animals / Biomarkers / Biomarkers - metabolism / Chemical reactions / Cytosol / Diagnostic / Drug development / Energy metabolism / Energy storage / Energy transduction / Environmental conditions / Enzymes / Gene expression / Glucose / Glucose metabolism / Glycolysis / Homeostasis / Humans / Immunomodulation / Intermediates / Kinases / Metabolic pathways / Metabolism / Metabolites / Mitochondria / NAD / Neoplasms - drug therapy / Neoplasms - enzymology / Neoplasms - metabolism / Neurodegeneration / Neurodegenerative Diseases - drug therapy / Neurodegenerative Diseases - enzymology / Neurodegenerative Diseases - metabolism / Oxidative phosphorylation / Parasitic Diseases - drug therapy / Parasitic Diseases - enzymology / Parasitic Diseases - metabolism / Pathogenesis / Pathogenesis Of Diseases / Phosphorylation / Prognostic / Prokaryotes / Pyruvic acid / Review / Review Articles / Therapeutic / Therapeutic targets / Virulence