REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Virology
Metabolic Hijacking Styles: A Review of How Viral Life Cycles Dictate Glucose Metabolism Reprogramming
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
- 2Central Hospital of Yongzhou City, Yongzhou, China
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Viral infection profoundly reprograms host glucose metabolism to support replication. This review proposes a "Sprint vs. Marathon" framework to explain how viral life cycles shape distinct metabolic hijacking styles. Acute RNA viruses employ a rapid, high-intensity "Sprint" strategy, aggressively activating glycolysis through pathways such as PI3K/Akt and HIF-1α. In contrast, chronic and latent viruses adopt a sustained "Marathon" strategy, subtly modulating glycolytic enzymes, glucose transporters, and survival pathways including NF-κB and mTOR. Understanding these divergent metabolic programs provides new insight into viral pathogenesis and highlights opportunities for developing host-directed antiviral therapies.
Keywords: viral infection, glucose metabolism, glycolytic enzymes, metabolic reprogramming, host–virus interaction
Received: 21 Aug 2025; Accepted: 17 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 bie, tan, ye and Wei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ke Wei, 004343@hnucm.edu.cn
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