Reverse flux of α-ketoglutarate to acetyl-CoA is a necessary early step in phospholipid synthesis for IDH-wildtype glioma cells and normal astrocytes, especially under hypoxic conditions when hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) is activated (Wise et al., 2011); this lipid production is attenuated in glioma cells with mutant IDH (Chen et al., 2014). Here, HIF1A is linked to central nervous system cancer.