The Warburg effect in cancer cells describes aerobic glycolysis: glucose is preferentially converted to lactate even when oxygen is present. Which metabolic advantage does this confer on rapidly proliferating tumour cells?

• A Generates biosynthetic precursors (ribose-5-phosphate, glycerol-3-phosphate, amino acid carbon) for macromolecule synthesis ✓
• B Maximises ATP yield per glucose molecule for energy-intensive proliferation
• C Reduces ROS production to protect tumour cells from oxidative stress only
• D Activates mTOR to increase protein translation

Explanation

Aerobic glycolysis sacrifices ATP efficiency to divert glycolytic intermediates into biosynthetic pathways: glucose-6-phosphate → pentose phosphate pathway (ribose-5-phosphate for nucleotides, NADPH for antioxidant defence and lipid synthesis); 3-phosphoglycerate → serine/glycine for one-carbon metabolism; dihydroxyacetone phosphate → glycerol-3-phosphate for phospholipids. These precursors support the rapid macromolecular synthesis required for cell division. Mitochondrial OXPHOS produces far more ATP per glucose, so maximal ATP yield is not the advantage. ROS reduction is a secondary benefit. mTOR activation is not a direct consequence of aerobic glycolysis.

Reference: Harper's Illustrated Biochemistry, 32nd ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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