Various lipids and lipid metabolites are bound to and modify the proteins in eukaryotic cells, which are known as ‘protein lipidation’. There are four major types of the protein lipidation, i.e. myristoylation, palmitoylation, prenylation, and glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. N-myristoylation refers to the attachment of 14-carbon fatty acid myristates to the N-terminal glycine of proteins by N-myristoyltransferases (NMT) and affects their physiology such as plasma targeting, subcellular tracking and localization, thereby influencing the function of proteins. With more novel pathogenic N-myristoylated proteins are identified, the N-myristoylation will attract great attentions in various human diseases including infectious diseases, parasitic diseases, and cancers. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of N-myristoylation in physiological processes and discuss the hitherto implication of crosstalk between N-myristoylation and other protein modification. Furthermore, we mention several well-studied NMT inhibitors mainly in infectious diseases and cancers and generalize the relation of NMT and cancer progression by browsing the clinic database. This review also aims to highlight the further investigation into the dynamic crosstalk of N-myristoylation in physiological processes as well as the potential application of protein N-myristoylation in translational medicine.

各种脂质和脂质代谢物结合并修饰真核细胞中的蛋白质，这被称为“蛋白质脂质化”。蛋白质脂化主要有四种类型，即肉豆蔻酰化，棕榈酰化，异戊烯化和糖基磷脂酰肌醇锚定。N-肉豆蔻酰基化是指14-碳脂肪酸肉豆蔻酸酯通过N-肉豆蔻酰基转移酶（NMT）连接到蛋白质的N端甘氨酸上，并影响其生理性，例如血浆靶向，亚细胞跟踪和定位，从而影响蛋白质的功能。随着鉴定出更多新颖的致病性N-肉豆蔻酰化蛋白，N-肉豆蔻酰化将在包括传染病，寄生虫病和癌症在内的各种人类疾病中引起极大关注。在这篇评论中 我们总结了目前对生理过程中N-肉豆蔻酰基化的理解，并讨论了N-肉豆蔻酰基化与其他蛋白质修饰之间串扰的迄今含义。此外，我们提到了几种主要研究传染病和癌症的NMT抑制剂，并通过浏览临床数据库来概括NMT与癌症进展的关系。这篇综述还旨在强调对生理过程中N-肉豆蔻酰化的动态串扰以及蛋白质N-肉豆蔻酰化在转化医学中的潜在应用的进一步研究。我们提到了几种主要研究传染病和癌症的NMT抑制剂，并通过浏览临床数据库来概括NMT与癌症进展的关系。这篇综述还旨在强调对生理过程中N-肉豆蔻酰化的动态串扰以及蛋白N-肉豆蔻酰化在转化医学中的潜在应用的进一步研究。我们提到了几种主要研究传染病和癌症的NMT抑制剂，并通过浏览临床数据库来概括NMT与癌症进展的关系。这篇综述还旨在强调对生理过程中N-肉豆蔻酰化的动态串扰以及蛋白质N-肉豆蔻酰化在转化医学中的潜在应用的进一步研究。