{
  "abstract": "Lactate is the highest turnover circulating metabolite in mammals. While traditionally viewed as a waste product, lactate is an important energy source for many organs, but first must be oxidized to pyruvate for entry into the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle). This reaction is thought to occur in the cytosol, with pyruvate subsequently transported into mitochondria via the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC). Using 13 C stable isotope tracing, we demonstrated that lactate is oxidized in the myocardial tissue of mice even when the MPC is genetically deleted. This MPC-independent lactate import and mitochondrial oxidation is dependent upon the monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1/ Slc16a1 ). Mitochondria isolated from the myocardium without MCT1 exhibit a specific defect in mitochondrial lactate, but not pyruvate, metabolism. The import and subsequent mitochondrial oxidation of lactate by mitochondrial lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) acts as an electron shuttle, generating sufficient NADH to support respiration even when the TCA cycle is disrupted. In response to diverse cardiac insults, animals with hearts lacking MCT1 undergo rapid progression to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Thus, the mitochondrial import and oxidation of lactate enables carbohydrate entry into the TCA cycle to sustain cardiac energetics and maintain myocardial structure and function under stress conditions.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA",
    "Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA",
    "Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 842, USA",
    "Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Section of Molecular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest University Health Science Center, Winston-Salem, NC, USA",
    "Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA",
    "Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 8411, USA",
    "Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA",
    "The Diabetes and Metabolism Research Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 8112, USA",
    "Department of Integrative Bioscience and Biotechnology, Sejong University, Seoul, Republic of Korea",
    "Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA",
    "Metabolomics, Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA",
    "High-throughput Genomics Core, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA",
    "University of Utah, Department of Pathology, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA",
    "Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA",
    "Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA",
    "Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA",
    "Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA",
    "Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 4112, USA",
    "Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA",
    "Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA",
    "Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, and Duke Molecular Physiology Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA",
    "Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA",
    "Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA",
    "UTAH (Utah Transplant Affiliated Hospitals) Cardiac Transplant Program, University of Utah Healthcare and School of Medicine, Intermountain Medical Center, Salt Lake Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA",
    "Metabolomics, Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA",
    "Center for Metabolic Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA",
    "Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. stavros.drakos@hsc.utah.edu",
    "Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. stavros.drakos@hsc.utah.edu",
    "UTAH (Utah Transplant Affiliated Hospitals) Cardiac Transplant Program, University of Utah Healthcare and School of Medicine, Intermountain Medical Center, Salt Lake Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. stavros.drakos@hsc.utah.edu",
    "U.T.A.H. (Utah Transplant Affiliated Hospitals) Cardiac Transplant Program: University of Utah Healthcare and School of Medicine, Intermountain Medical Center, Salt Lake VA (Veterans Affairs) Health Care System, Salt Lake City, UT, USA",
    "Center for Metabolic Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. rutter@biochem.utah.edu",
    "Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. rutter@biochem.utah.edu",
    "Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. rutter@biochem.utah.edu",
    "Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA",
    "Center for Metabolic Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. greg.ducker@biochem.utah.edu",
    "Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. greg.ducker@biochem.utah.edu"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 38,
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      "name": "Jeffrey D. Rothstein",
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      "name": "Stavros Drakos",
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      "name": "Jared P. Rutter",
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  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/azme32bfsdgrp.bib",
  "cited_by": 12,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41586-026-11182-3",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "azme32bfsdgrp",
  "issns": [
    "0028-0836",
    "1476-4687"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11182-3",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
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  "native_subjects": [
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      "1312|Mitochondrial Function and Pathology"
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  "openalex": "W4403257866",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC11482898",
  "pmid": "39416192",
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/azme32bfsdgrp.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T13:20:37Z",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11182-3"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Mitochondrial Function and Pathology",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
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  ],
  "title": "MCT1-dependent mitochondrial lactate import sustains cardiac metabolism",
  "title_text": "MCT1-dependent mitochondrial lactate import sustains cardiac metabolism",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T13:21:06Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/azme32bfsdgrp",
  "venue": "Nature",
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}