Physiologic metabolic pathways

Physiologic metabolic pathways represent the integrated network of biochemical reactions essential for maintaining cellular and systemic homeostasis. These pathways are broadly divided into catabolism, which breaks down nutrients to produce energy in the form of ATP, and anabolism, which utilizes that energy to synthesize complex molecules like proteins and nucleic acids (StatPearls, 2023). Because this term encompasses thousands of distinct enzymatic reactions and transport processes, it is considered a biological system rather than a specific molecular target for drug discovery (NIH, 2022). Dysfunction within these pathways is a primary driver of numerous conditions, including metabolic syndrome, mitochondrial diseases, and the metabolic shifts required for cancer cell proliferation (PubMed, 2021). While drugs do not target metabolism as a whole, they frequently target specific rate-limiting enzymes or regulatory receptors within these pathways to achieve therapeutic effects. Understanding these pathways is crucial for identifying biomarkers and predicting the systemic impact of pharmacological interventions.

Other names

MetabolismMetabolic networkIntermediary metabolismBiochemical pathways

Not applicable as this represents a broad biological system rather than a specific molecular target.