ITPR1 and cancer: The cancer cell death induced by IP3R inhibition could be rescued by providing the cells with cell-permeable mitochondrial substrates like methyl pyruvate, that is oxidized to NADH necessary to drive OXPHOS and production of ATP or dimethyl α-ketoglutarate, a precursor for glutamine to fuel the TCA cycle, where it enters and is oxidized by a Ca2+-dependent α-KGDH as the first step (67).