Editing Mevalonate pathway (section)

{{Short description|Series of interconnected biochemical reactions}}
[[Image:Wiki pathway hi def tiff.tif|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|500px|Mevalonate pathway diagram showing the conversion of acetyl-CoA into isopentenyl pyrophosphate, the essential building block of all isoprenoids. The eukaryotic variant is shown in black. Archaeal variants are shown in red and blue.]]

The '''mevalonate pathway''', also known as the '''isoprenoid pathway''' or '''[[HMG-CoA reductase]] pathway''' is an essential [[metabolic pathway]] present in [[eukaryotes]], [[archaea]], and some [[bacteria]].<ref name="GENERAL"/> The pathway produces two five-carbon building blocks called [[isopentenyl pyrophosphate]] (IPP) and [[dimethylallyl pyrophosphate]] (DMAPP), which are used to make [[isoprenoids]], a diverse class of over 30,000 biomolecules such as [[cholesterol]], [[vitamin K]], [[coenzyme Q10]], and all [[steroid hormones]].<ref name="ISOPRENOIDS"/>

The mevalonate pathway begins with [[acetyl-CoA]] and ends with the production of IPP and DMAPP.<ref name="REVIEW"/> It is best known as the target of [[statin]]s, a class of cholesterol lowering drugs. Statins inhibit [[HMG-CoA reductase]] within the mevalonate pathway.