Modelling the impact of changes in the extracellular environment on the cytosolic free NAD⁺/NADH ratio during cell culture

Cancer cells depend on glucose metabolism via glycolysis as a primary energy source, despite the presence of oxygen and fully functioning mitochondria, in order to promote growth, proliferation and longevity. Glycolysis relies upon NAD+ to accept electrons in the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) reaction, linking the redox state of the cytosolic NAD+ pool to glycolytic rate. The free cytosolic NAD+/NADH ratio is involved in over 700 oxidoreductive enzymatic reactions and as such, the NAD+/NADH ratio is regarded as a metabolic readout of overall cellular redox state. Many experimental techniques that monitor or measure total NAD+ and NADH are unable to distinguish between protein-bound and unbound forms. Yet total NAD+/NADH measurements yield little information, since it is the free forms of NAD+ and NADH that determine the kinetic and thermodynamic influence of redox potential on glycolytic rate. Indirect estimations of free NAD+/NADH are based on the lactate/pyruvate (L/P) ratio at chemical equilibrium, but these measurements are often undermined by high lability. To elucidate the sensitivity of the free NAD+/NADH ratio to changes in extracellular substrate, an in silico model of hepatocarcinoma glycolysis was constructed and validated against in vitro data. Model simulations reveal that over experimentally relevant concentrations, changes in extracellular glucose and lactate concentration during routine cancer cell culture can lead to significant deviations in the NAD+/NADH ratio. Based on the principles of chemical equilibrium, the model provides a platform from which experimentally challenging situations may be examined, suggesting that extracellular substrates play an important role in cellular redox and bioenergetic homeostasis.