Moreover, ascorbate also shows the ability to induce cell death by targeting glycolytic metabolism in primary AML blasts, through the inhibition of hexokinase 1/2 (HK1/2) and GLUT1 in hematopoietic cells, and, in combination with the metabolic inhibitor buformin, also decreases mitochondrial respiration and ATP production, sparing healthy CD34+ cells. The gene discussed is HK1; the disease is acute myeloid leukemia.