A Fresh View of Glycolysis and Glucokinase Regulation: History and Current Status

This minireview looks back at a century of glycolysis research with a focus on the mechanisms of flux regulation. Traditionally, glycolysis is regarded as a feeder pathway that prepares glucose for further catabolism and energy production. However, glycolysis is much more than that, in particular in those tissues that express the low affinity glucose-phosphorylating enzyme glucokinase. This enzyme equips the glycolytic pathway with a special steering function for the regulation of intermediary metabolism. In beta cells, glycolysis acts as a transducer for triggering and amplifying physiological glucose-induced insulin secretion. On the basis of these considerations, I have defined a glycolytic flux regulatory unit composed of the two fructose ester steps of this pathway with various enzymes and metabolites that regulate glycolysis.