GLYCOLYSIS

GLYCOLYSIS

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Top doctors in key Covid wards are guarded in their reception to the 2-DG (2-deoxy-D-Glucose) drug the Centre launched Monday granting emergency use approval and saying it will reduce recovery time and oxygen dependency for Covid-19 patients.

Concept :

• Their consensus is that the principle behind 2-DG, traditionally used as a cancer drug, is well-established. It inhibits glycolysis.

Glycolysis

• Glycolysis is the process in which glucose is broken down to produce energy. It produces two molecules of pyruvate, ATP, NADH and water. The process takes place in the cytosol of the cell cytoplasm, in the presence or absence of oxygen.
• Glycolysis is the primary step of cellular respiration. In the absence of oxygen, the cells take small amounts of ATP through the process of fermentation.
• This metabolic pathway was discovered by three German biochemists- Gustav Embden, Otto Meyerhof, and Jakub Karol Parnas in the early 19th century and is known as the EMP pathway (Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas).