Lactate is an end product of glycolysis. Owing to the lactate shuttle concept introduced in the early 1980s, increasing researchers indicate lactate as a critical energy source for mitochondrial respiration and as a precursor of gluconeogenesis. Lactate also acts as a multifunctional signaling molecule through receptors expressed in various cells, resulting in diverse biological consequences including decreased lipolysis, immune regulation, and anti-inflammation wound healing, and enhanced exercise performance in association with the gut microbiome. Furthermore, increasing evidence reveals that lactate contributes to epigenetic gene regulation by lactylating lysine residues of histones, which accounts for its key role in immune modulation and maintenance of homeostasis. Here, we summarize the function and mechanism of lactate and lactylation in tumor metabolism and microenvironment.

乳酸是糖酵解的最终产物。由于 20 世纪 80 年代初引入的乳酸穿梭概念，越来越多的研究人员表明乳酸是线粒体呼吸的关键能源和糖异生的前体。乳酸还通过各种细胞中表达的受体充当多功能信号分子，导致多种生物学后果，包括减少脂肪分解、免疫调节和抗炎伤口愈合，以及增强与肠道微生物组相关的运动表现。此外，越来越多的证据表明，乳酸通过乳化组蛋白的赖氨酸残基来促进表观遗传基因调节，这解释了其在免疫调节和维持体内平衡中的关键作用。在此，我们总结了乳酸和乳酸化在肿瘤代谢和微环境中的功能和机制。