Pyruvate Metabolism
- Glycolysis
- Citric Acid Cycle (TCA Cycle)
- Electron Transport Chain (ETC)
- Cori Cycle
- De Novo Purine Synthesis
- De Novo Pyrimidine Synthesis
- Purine Salvage
- Purine Excretion
- Ethanol Metabolism
- Pyruvate Metabolism
- HMP Shunt (Pentose Phosphate Pathway)
- Galactose Metabolism
- Sorbitol (Polyol) Pathway
- Urea Cycle
- Alanine (Cahill) Cycle
- Catecholamine Synthesis & Breakdown
- Homocysteine Metabolism
- Fatty Acid Synthesis (Citrate Shuttle)
- Fatty Acid Breakdown (Carnitine Shuttle)
- Propionic Acid Pathway
- Fructose Metabolism
- Regulation by Fructose-2,6-Bisphosphate (F-2,6-BP)
- Glycogenesis
- Glycogenolysis
Pyruvate can be metabolized in many different reactions by the body. The four most important reactions include its conversion into (1) oxaloacetate, (2) alanine, (3) lactate, and (4) acetyl-CoA.
The first is the conversion of pyruvate into oxaloacetate, a reaction catalyzed by pyruvate carboxylase with the co-factor, Biotin (Vitamin B7).
Second, pyruvate can undergo transamination via ALT (alanine transaminase) into alanine, using Vitamin B6 (pyroxidine) as a cofactor.
Third, pyruvate is turned into lactate by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), which uses the Vitamin B3 (Niacin)-derived NADH, generating NAD+ in the process.
Finally, pyruvate gets converted into acetyl-CoA by pyruvate dehydrogenase. This reaction is catalyzed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, which requires 5 cofactors: Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, and lipoic acid. It also converts NAD+ to NADH in the process.
Find Pyruvate Metabolism and more Biochemical Pathways among Pixorize's visual mnemonics for the USMLE Step 1 and NBME Shelf Exams.