2-deoxyglucose

Solid tumors have hypoxic areas with slow growing cells that are resistant to chemotherapy, which attacks rapidly dividing cells. In the hypoxic area of the tumor, the cells rely on anaerobic glycolysis to produce energy in the form of ATP while non-tumor cells can rely on additional pathways such as fatty acid and amino acid metabolism to produce ATP. 2-deoxyglucose is an inhibitor of glycolysis because as a modified glucose molecule (it has a hydrogen at the carbon 2 position instead of a hydroxyl group), it is unable to complete the glycolysis process, and as such will hinder the survival of slow growing cancer cells. Regarding 2-deoxyglucose's antiviral activity, it prevents the glycosylation of specific proteins and lipids as well as prevents proper penetration of the virus into the target cells. In temporal lobe epilepsy, 2-deoxyglucose represses the overactive brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promoter and prevents the increased expression of BDNF protein and TrkB receptor (BDNF's receptor) that is observed in epileptic patients.