ABSTRACT
Glycolysis serves in the critical role of a connector to other pathways. This chapter considers the reactions common to most glycolytic pathways, or canonical glycolysis. The intermediates of glycolysis have been measured extensively in three tissues: red cells, liver, and skeletal muscle. The chapter details the major division of metabolic reactions between two types: near-equilibrium and the metabolically irreversible. The concept of energy coupling applies not just to an enzymatic mechanism, but to a metabolic pathway. A comparison of standard and actual free energies can be illustrated for glycolysis. A major role for glycolysis is the production of adenosine triphosphate from adenosine diphosphate. In the absence of mitochondrial pathways, this is the only route for the provision of energy for a cell. For all cells, the use of glycolytic intermediates as intersection points (pathway intermediates) of other pathways is an equally important function.
