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pentose-phosphate shunt
Sign in to saveAlso known as hexose monophosphate pathway, GO:0006098, pentose-phosphate pathway, pentose phosphate pathway, Pentose phosphate pathway: PPP, pentose phosphate shunt
The glucose-6-phosphate catabolic process in which, coupled to NADPH synthesis, glucose-6-P is oxidized with the formation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and ribulose 5-phosphate; ribulose 5-P then enters a series of reactions interconverting sugar phosphat
Research
8,650 papers- A glycolytic shunt via the pentose phosphate pathway is a metabolic checkpoint for nervous system sensory homeostasis and axonal regeneration.Cell · 2026
- The return of metabolism: biochemistry and physiology of the pentose phosphate pathway.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2015
- Cuproptosis Aggravates Pulpitis by Inhibiting the Pentose Phosphate Pathway.Journal of dental research · 2025
- Oxidative pentose phosphate pathway is required for T cell activation and antitumor immunity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
- Pentose phosphate shunt metabolism by cells of the chick growth cartilage.Bone · 1989
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Encyclopedic overview
The pentose phosphate pathway The pentose phosphate pathway (also called the phosphogluconate pathway and the hexose monophosphate shunt or HMP shunt) is a metabolic pathway parallel to glycolysis. It generates NADPH and pentoses (five-carbon sugars) as well as ribose 5-phosphate, a precursor for the synthesis of nucleotides. While the pentose phosphate pathway does involve oxidation of glucose, its primary role is anabolic rather than catabolic. The pathway is especially important in red blood cells (erythrocytes). The reactions of the pathway were elucidated in the early 1950s by Bernard Horecker and co-workers.
There are two distinct phases in the pathway. The first is the oxidative phase, in which NADPH is generated, and the second is the non-oxidative synthesis of five-carbon sugars. For most organisms, the pentose phosphate pathway takes place in the cytosol; in plants, most steps take place in plastids.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “pentose-phosphate shunt” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.