Under anaerobic conditions in yeast cells, pyruvate is converted to acetaldehyde and carbon dioxide, with the acetaldehyde being subsequently converted to ethanol in a step that oxidizes NADH to NAD.
Pyruvate is a keystone molecule critical for numerous aspects of eukaryotic and human metabolism. It is the end-product of glycolysis, is derived from additional sources in the cellular cytoplasm, and is ultimately destined for transport into mitochondria as a master fuel input undergirding citric acid cycle carbon flux.
In mitochondria, pyruvate drives ATP production by oxidative phosphorylation and multiple biosynthetic pathways intersecting the citric acid cycle.
Mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism is regulated by many enzymes, including the recently discovered mitochondria pyruvate carrier, pyruvate dehydrogenase, and pyruvate carboxylase, to modulate overall pyruvate carbon flux.
Mutations in any of the genes encoding for proteins regulating pyruvate metabolism may lead to disease. Numerous cases have been described. Aberrant pyruvate metabolism plays an especially prominent role in cancer, heart failure, and neurodegeneration.
Because most major diseases involve aberrant metabolism, understanding and exploiting pyruvate carbon flux may yield novel treatments that enhance human health.
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