Pyruvate dehydrogenase is inhibited when one or more of the three following ratios are increased: ATP/ADP, NADH/NAD and acetyl-CoA/CoA.
In eukaryotes PDC is tightly regulated by its own specific pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) and pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase (PDP), deactivating and activating it respectively. 
* PDK phosphorylates three specific serine residues on E1 with different affinities. Phosphorylation of any one of them (using ATP) renders E1 (and in consequence the entire complex) inactive.
* Dephosphorylation of E1 by PDP reinstates complex activity.
Products of the reaction act as allosteric inhibitors of the PDC, because they activate PDK. Substrates in turn inhibit PDK, reactivating PDC.
During starvation, PDK increases in amount in most tissues, including skeletal muscle, via increased gene transcription. Under the same conditions, the amount of PDP decreases. The resulting inhibition of PDC prevents muscle and other tissues from catabolizing glucose and gluconeogenesis precursors. Metabolism shifts toward fat utilization, while muscle protein breakdown to supply gluconeogenesis precursors is minimized, and available glucose is spared for use by the brain.
Calcium ions have a role in regulation of PDC in muscle tissue, because it activates PDP, stimulating glycolysis on its release into the cytosol - during muscle contraction. Some products of these transcriptions release H2 into the muscles. This can cause calcium ions to decay over time.