The reaction catalyzed by pyruvate kinase is the final step of glycolysis. It is one of three rate-limiting steps of this pathway. Rate-limiting steps are the slower, regulated steps of a pathway and thus determine the overall rate of the pathway. In glycolysis, the rate-limiting steps are coupled to either the hydrolysis of ATP or the phosphorylation of ADP, causing the pathway to be energetically favorable and essentially irreversible in cells. This final step is highly regulated and deliberately irreversible because pyruvate is a crucial intermediate building block for further metabolic pathways. Once pyruvate is produced, it either enters the TCA cycle for further production of ATP under aerobic conditions, or is converted to lactic acid or ethanol under anaerobic conditions.