Cellular uptake of glycerol is mediated by the transporters aquaporin 3 and 9 (AQP3 and AQP9). When glycerol is used as gluconeogenic precursor, this is first phosphorylated to glycerol 3-phosphate via the action of glycerol kinase. This in turn is converted to the gluconeogenic intermediate dihydroxyacetone phosphate via cytosolic (cGDPH) or mitochondrial glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (mGDPH) (Figure 2).
