Cited by 81Cancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismMicrobial Metabolic Engineering and BioproductionPhysiological and biochemical adaptations

The Warburg Effect is the result of faster ATP production by glycolysis than respiration

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Kukurugya, Matthew A., Rosset, Saharon, Titov, Denis V.·2024·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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Abstract

Abstract Many prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells metabolize glucose to organism-specific byproducts instead of fully oxidizing it to carbon dioxide and water–a phenomenon referred to as the Warburg Effect. The benefit to a cell has been unclear, given that partial metabolism of glucose yields an order of magnitude less ATP per molecule of glucose than complete oxidation. We show that glycolysis produces ATP faster per gram of pathway protein than respiration in E. coli , S. cerevisiae , and mammalian cells. A simple mathematical model that uses yield, rate, and proteome occupancy of glycolysis and respiration as the only parameters accurately predicts absolute rates of glycolysis and respiration in all three organisms under diverse conditions. Our study suggests that the Warburg Effect is a consequence of the optimization of the rate of energy generation under the constraint of finite proteome space. One-Sentence Summary The Warburg Effect is a manifestation by which cells across kingdoms of life optimize the rate of energy production.

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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.2409509121

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  • Enhanced aerobic glycolysis supports rapid ATP production and provides metabolic intermediates required for biosynthetic processes, thereby conferring a selective growth advantage to cancer cells.

    “Enhanced aerobic glycolysis supports rapid ATP production and provides metabolic intermediates required for biosynthetic processes, thereby conferring a selective growth advantage to cancer cells (24–26).”

    From Bioinformatics-based identification of glycolysis-related signatures associated with drug resistance and prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma (2026) · cites this paper as [26]

    The Abstract (page not supplied) supports faster ATP production through glycolysis and describes a potential growth benefit. It mentions biosynthetic demand as a proposed explanation, but does not establish that glycolysis supplies the claimed metabolic intermediates or that this combined mechanism confers a selective growth advantage specifically on cancer cells. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Authors
Kukurugya, M. A., Rosset, S., & Titov, D. V.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
  • Tel Aviv University (IL)
Corresponding author
Titov, Denis V.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2024-11-08
Volume
121
Issue
46
Pages
e2409509121-e2409509121
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W4404182654
Cited by
81
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 49 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 3
FWCI
15.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • HHS | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (DP2 GM132933, R35 GM152114)
  • Cancer Research Coordinating Committee (C24CR7706, n/a)
  • Koret Foundation (n/a)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Physiological and biochemical adaptations
Keywords
Warburg effect, glycolysis, cellular respiration, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mammalian cells, fermentation
MeSH terms
Adenosine Triphosphate, Animals, Energy Metabolism, Escherichia coli, Glucose, Glycolysis, Humans, Models, Biological, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Cell Respiration

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