<h2>Fate of Pyruvate</h2>

Pyruvate is the end product of aerobic glycolysis. Pyruvate can be metabolized in any of the following ways.

Fate of Pyruvate

• Under aerobic conditions, pyruvate enters the TCA (tricarboxylic citric acid) cycle through pyruvate dehydrogenase where 2 carbon unit Acetyl CoA is formed
• Under anaerobic conditions, the TCA cycle shuts down and the pyruvate is converted to lactate by lactate dehydrogenase

The lactate thus formed is utilized to regenerate NAD+ to keep glycolysis going (in the absence of NAD+ glycolysis cannot occur).

• Other pathways of pyruvate include pyruvate carboxylase (oxaloacetate synthesis)
• Pyruvate decarboxylase reaction - (NAD+ generation to replenish stores) 
• Amination of pyruvate to form alanine
• Pyruvate can be converted to glucose (reverse of glycolysis)
• Pyruvate can be converted to malate and then oxaloacetate

The oxaloacetate formed from pyruvate can in turn be supplied to the TCA cycle to form ATP

Sources or synthesis of pyruvate
Glycolysis
Oxidation of lactate
Deamination of alanine
Decarboxylation of oxaloacetate
From glucogenic amino acids