Key Roles of Glutamine Pathways in Reprogramming the Cancer Metabolism

Figure 1

The connection between glutamine and tricarboxylic acid cycle: glutamine is metabolized to glutamate and next to α-ketoglutarate. Quick energy pathway from glutamine is open if glutamate dehydrogenase is activated by the low ATP and high ADP levels (as in majority of cancers). In the opposite, ATP and NAD(P)H₂ are necessary for the synthesis of glutamine which takes place especially in muscles. Reactions 20, 21, and 22 are the source of ammonia and ammonia induced autophagy. (Indices at enzyme abbreviations point to reaction numbers in Figures 1 and 2.)