skeletal muscle (anaerobic glycolysis)
Last reviewed 01/2018
Anaerobic glycolysis in skeletal muscle is important in three different situations:
- type IIb muscle fibres:
- optimized for rapid bursts of contraction by evolutionary loss of most mitochondria
- therefore, cannot undertake oxidative phosphorylation and instead have very active anaerobic enzymes
- initial few minutes of exercise:
- supply of energy substrates from blood cannot match sudden increase in energy demands
- anaerobic metabolism sustains demand for first few minutes
- on-going exercise with increased energy demands:
- if oxidative glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle cannot process substrate any faster, lactate dehydrogenase can convert pyruvate to lactate for subsequent reformation of glucose within the liver - the Cori cycle