Pyruvate is a small organic molecule that is a key intermediate in several metabolic pathways.
It is the end product of glycolysis, a process that breaks down glucose to release energy.
Increased conversion of pyruvate to lactate (via lactate dehydrogenase, LDH) contributes to the acidification of the tumor microenvironment, which can promote tumor invasion and immune evasion.
Cancer cells can dynamically adjust pyruvate utilization based on nutrient availability. Under certain conditions, some cancer cells may reroute pyruvate to the mitochondria for oxidative phosphorylation, especially in nutrient- or oxygen-rich environments.
This flexibility also means that targeting pyruvate metabolism (e.g., by inhibiting key enzymes like PKM2 or PDKs) is an area of interest in cancer therapy.
Pyruvate is a central metabolite whose handling in cancer cells is redirected to favor increased glycolysis and lactate production over oxidative phosphorylation. This metabolic reprogramming is a key driver of tumor cell survival, proliferation, and adaptation to stress, and is associated with poor prognosis in multiple cancer types. Although not “expressed” like a protein, the regulation of pyruvate metabolism is clearly protumorigenic by sustaining the energetic and biosynthetic demands of cancer, and is an area of active therapeutic exploration.
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