Disorders of Gluconeogenesis

Abstract

Gluconeogenesis, or the formation of glucose from mainly lactate/ pyruvate, glycerol and alanine, plays an essential role in the maintenance of normoglycaemia during fasting. Inborn deficiencies are known of each of the four enzymes of the glycolytic-gluconeogenic pathway that ensure a unidirectional flux from pyruvate to glucose: pyruvate carboxylase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, and glucose-6-phosphatase. In this paper, the clinical picture, pathophysiology, diagnostic tests, genetics, treatment and prognosis of the deficiencies of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase are reviewed.