- This page was created by volunteers like you!
- Help us make it even better. To learn more about contributing to MEpedia, click here.
- Join the movement
- Visit #MEAction to find support or take action. Donate today to help us improve and expand this project.
- Congratulations!
- MEpedia has got over 30 million views as of August 2022!
Pyruvate dehydrogenase
Pyruvate dehydrogenase or PDH is an enzyme that is part of the citric acid cycle. It catalyzes the reaction that transforms pyruvate into acetyl-CoA, a process called pyruvate decarboxylation. PDH activity is inhibited by pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK).
PDH activity is controlled by multiple different factors, including but not limited to:
- PDH kinases (PDKs), that inhibit activity of PDH enzymes
- PDH phosphatases that yank away PDH’s phosphate group so it does not function properly
- Sirtuin 4 (SIRT4), which is also an inhibitor for PDH
- PDK1, 2, 3, and 4
- A shift in these or their expression means a shift towards higher glucose, lower pyruvate, lower Acetyl Co-A, and fewer energy-rich molecules produced in the cell to do work.
PDH activity can be increased by supplementing with L-carnitine.[1]
ME/CFS[edit | edit source]
A large study by Øystein Fluge and Olav Mella of 200 patients meeting the Canadian Consensus Criteria and 102 controls found a pattern of amino acids that suggested functional impairment of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), supported by increased mRNA expression of the inhibitory PDH kinases 1, 2, and 4; sirtuin 4; and PPARδ in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from both sexes.[2]
See also[edit | edit source]
Learn more[edit | edit source]
- Fluge, Mella, and Armstrong: More Support for Disordered Metabolism in ME Patients, #MEAction, December 23, 2016
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Arenas, J.; Huertas, R.; Campos, Y.; Díaz, A.E.; Villalón, J.M.; Vilas, E. (March 14, 1994). "Effects of L-carnitine on the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and carnitine palmitoyl transferase activities in muscle of endurance athletes". FEBS letters. 341 (1): 91–93. doi:10.1016/0014-5793(94)80246-7. ISSN 0014-5793. PMID 8137928.
- ↑ Tronstad, Karl J.; Dahl, Olav; Ueland, Per M.; Helgeland, Lars; Sommerfelt, Kristian; McCann, Adrian; Schäfer, Christoph; Bohnen, Louis M. L.J.; Baranowska, Katarzyna A. (January 3, 2017). "Metabolic profiling indicates impaired pyruvate dehydrogenase function in myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome". JCI Insight. 1 (21). doi:10.1172/jci.insight.89376. ISSN 0021-9738.
