Summary
This comprehensive review examines energy metabolism in maintaining physiological homeostasis and its dysregulation in a range of chronic and metabolic diseases. It synthesises mechanistic understanding of key metabolic pathways—including mitochondrial respiration, glycolysis, and lipid metabolism—and how their impairment underpins conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and neurodegeneration. The paper surveys emerging therapeutic targets within these pathways and highlights the importance of personalised metabolic analysis integrated with multi-omics approaches, gene-editing technologies, and synergistic therapeutic strategies.
Regional applicability
The mechanistic findings on energy metabolism are applicable to UK clinical practice and public health, particularly regarding metabolic diseases including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Insights into energy metabolism targets may inform NHS treatment strategies and NICE guideline development. However, the applicability of specific therapeutic recommendations would depend on their alignment with NICE guidance and NHS resource availability.
Key measures
Metabolic pathway function, cellular energy production, ATP synthesis, mitochondrial dynamics, enzyme activity, metabolic dysregulation markers, glucose metabolism, activity of mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), sirtuins, and adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), metabolomic profiles
Outcomes reported
The review synthesises current understanding of energy metabolism pathways (glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid and amino acid metabolism) and their regulatory mechanisms in health and disease. It examines how disruptions to cellular and systemic energy metabolism contribute to diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular conditions, neurodegenerative diseases, and autoimmune disorders, and surveys potential therapeutic strategies targeting metabolic pathways.
Topic tags
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