The dorsal root ganglion (DRG) is a highly vulnerable site in diabetic neuropathy. Under diabetic conditions, the DRG is subjected to tissue ischemia or lower ambient oxygen tension that leads to aberrant metabolic functions. Metabolic dysfunctions have been documented to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of diverse pain hypersensitivities. However, the contribution of diabetes-induced metabolic dysfunctions in the DRG to the pathogenesis of painful diabetic neuropathy remains ill-explored. In this study, we report that pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDK2 and PDK4), key regulatory enzymes in glucose metabolism, mediate glycolytic metabolic shift in the DRG leading to painful diabetic neuropathy. Streptozotocin-induced diabetes substantially enhanced the expression and activity of the PDKs in the DRG, and the genetic ablation of Pdk2 and Pdk4 attenuated the hyperglycemia-induced pain hypersensitivity. Mechanistically, Pdk2/4 deficiency inhibited the diabetes-induced lactate surge, expression of pain-related ion channels, activation of satellite glial cells, and infiltration of macrophages in the DRG, in addition to reducing central sensitization and neuroinflammation hallmarks in the spinal cord, which probably accounts for the attenuated pain hypersensitivity. Pdk2/4-deficient mice were partly resistant to the diabetes-induced loss of peripheral nerve structure and function. Furthermore, in the experiments using DRG neuron cultures, lactic acid treatment enhanced the expression of the ion channels and compromised cell viability. Finally, the pharmacological inhibition of DRG PDKs or lactic acid production substantially attenuated diabetes-induced pain hypersensitivity. Taken together, PDK2/4 induction and the subsequent lactate surge induce the metabolic shift in the diabetic DRG, thereby contributing to the pathogenesis of painful diabetic neuropathy.Painful neuropathy is one of the most common complications of diabetes. Patients with diabetes frequently exhibit a variety of aberrant sensations, including pain hypersensitivity (1, 2). Interrelation and mutual perpetuation of distinct aberrations of specific metabolic pathways cause painful diabetic neuropathy. Furthermore, painful diabetic neuropathy probably results from a combination of metabolic and immune factors (3, 4). Metabolic aberrations are thought to be early events in painful diabetic neuropathy, leading to biochemical, structural, and functional changes in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) 3 and its nerve trunk (5, 6). Likewise, hyperglycemia-induced immune activation creates an inflammatory microenvironment surrounding the influenced nerves (7).The DRG is pathologically important in diabetes presenting with painful neuropathic states, which patients with early polyneuropathy commonly experience (8). Ganglionic sensory neurons are devoid of any special protection by the blood-brain or blood-nerve barrier and have higher metabolic requirements than the nerve trunk, which makes the ganglion a vulnerable site in the pathogenesis of diabetic neurop...