Lactate and Lactylation: What We Know and What We Expect in Tumour Progression
- 1Cancer Center, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University Beijing China
- 2Stem Cell and Cancer Center, the First Hospital of Jilin University Changchun China
Abstract
In 2017, lactate was proposed not only as an anaerobic glycolytic metabolite but also as a carbon source involved in the mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid cycle. Lactate plays various biological regulatory roles, such as in energy sources, signalling molecules, and immunomodulatory molecules. Increasing evidence has shown that lactate accumulation in the tumour microenvironment is a hallmark of cancer. However, the mechanisms underlying the role of lactate in cancer progression remain unclear. Recently, various metabolites, including lactate, were shown to regulate epigenetic modifications in a concentration‐dependent manner. In this review, we discuss advancements in the field that show how lactate and lactylation can accelerate the progression of cancer. The synthesis of the studies discussed herein may serve as a theoretical foundation for identifying novel mechanisms underlying rapid tumour progression and provide further insights that will benefit cancer therapies.
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BibTeX
@article{zhang2026lactate,
title = {{Lactate and Lactylation: What We Know and What We Expect in Tumour Progression}},
author = {Qi Zhang and Zhenzhen Han and Youjia Duan},
journal = {Cell Proliferation},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1111/cpr.70293},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/cpr.70293},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Lactate and Lactylation: What We Know and What We Expect in Tumour Progression
AU - Qi Zhang
AU - Zhenzhen Han
AU - Youjia Duan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - Cell Proliferation
DO - 10.1111/cpr.70293
UR - https://doi.org/10.1111/cpr.70293
AB - In 2017, lactate was proposed not only as an anaerobic glycolytic metabolite but also as a carbon source involved in the mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid cycle. Lactate plays various biological regulatory roles, such as in energy sources, signalling molecules, and immunomodulatory molecules. Increasing evidence has shown that lactate accumulation in the tumour microenvironment is a hallmark of cancer. However, the mechanisms underlying the role of lactate in cancer progression remain unclear. Recently, various metabolites, including lactate, were shown to regulate epigenetic modifications in a concentration‐dependent manner. In this review, we discuss advancements in the field that show how lactate and lactylation can accelerate the progression of cancer. The synthesis of the studies discussed herein may serve as a theoretical foundation for identifying novel mechanisms underlying rapid tumour progression and provide further insights that will benefit cancer therapies.
SN - 0960-7722
SN - 1365-2184
ER -