fig2

Figure 2. The Warburg Effect in cancer cells. In the presence of oxygen, differentiated tissues first metabolise glucose to pyruvate via glycolysis and then oxidise the majority of the pyruvate to carbon dioxide via oxidative phosphorylation. In situations where oxygen is low, cells redirect pyruvate generated by glycolysis away from oxidative phosphorylation by generating lactate via anaerobic glycolysis. By contrast, cancer cells convert most glucose to pyruvate regardless of whether oxygen is present. This allows cancer cells to meet the increased cellular energy demands