The pentose phosphate pathway—also referred to in the literature as the phosphogluconate pathway, the hexose monophosphate shunt, or the pentose phosphate shunt—is involved in the generation of NADPH as well as pentose sugars. Of the total cytoplasmic NADPH used in biosynthetic reactions, a significant proportion of it is generated through the pentose phosphate pathway. Ribose 5-phosphate is also another essential product generated by this pathway which is employed in nucleotide synthesis. The pentose phosphate pathway is also involved in the digestive process as the products of nucleic acid catabolism can be metabolized through the pathway (pentose sugars are usually yielded in the breakdown) while the carbon backbones of dietary carbohydrates can be converted into glycolytic/gluconeogenic intermediates. The pentose phosphate pathway is interconnected to the glycolysis pathway through the shared use of three intermediates: glucose 6-phosphate, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, and fructose 6-phosphate. The pathway can be described as eight distinct reactions (see below) and is separated into an oxidative phase and a non-oxidative phase. Reactions 1-3 form the oxidative phase and generate NADPH and pentose 5-phosphate. Reactions 4-8 form the non-oxidative phase and converts pentose 5-phosphate into other pentose sugars such as ribose 5-phosphate, but generates no NADPH. The eight reactions are as follows: reaction 1 where glucose-6-phosphate 1-dehydrogenase converts glucose 6-phosphate into D-glucono-1,5-lactone 6-phosphate with NADPH formation; reaction 2 where 6-phosphogluconolactonase converts D-glucono-1,5-lactone 6-phosphate into 6-phospho-D-gluconate;reaction 3 where 6-phosophogluconate dehydrogenase converts 6-phospho-D-gluconate into ribulose 5-phosphate with NADPH formation; reaction 4 where ribulose-phosphate 3-epimerase converts ribulose 5-phosphate into xylulose 5-phosphate; reaction 5 where ribose-5-phosphate isomerase converts ribulose 5-phosphate into ribose 5-phosphate; reaction 6 where transketolase rearranges ribose 5-phosphate and xylulose 5-phosphate to form sedoheptulose 7-phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate; reaction 7 where transaldolase rearranges of sedoheptulose 7-phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to form erythrose 4-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate; and reaction 8 where transkelotase rearranges of xylulose 5-phosphate and erythrose 4-phosphate to form glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate.

Pentose Phosphate Pathway References