Lactate: a pearl dropped in the ocean—an overlooked signal molecule in physiology and pathology

作者：Yue Wu, Wanqi Ma, Wei Liu, Shuping Zhang · 发表于：Cell Biology International · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1002/cbin.11975 · 被引用次数：21 · 研究领域：Cancer, Hypoxia, and Metabolism、Neonatal Respiratory Health Research、Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation

Lactate, once recognized as a wasty product from anaerobic glycolysis, is proved to be a pivotal signal molecule. Lactate accumulation occurs in diverse physiological and pathological settings due to the imbalance between lactate production and clearance. Under the condition with drastic changes in local microenvironment, such as tumorigenesis, inflammation, and microbial infection, the glycolysis turns to be active in surrounding cells leading to increased lactate release. Meanwhile, lactate can be utilized by these cells as an energy substrate and acts as a signal molecule to regulate cell functions through receptor-dependent or independent pathways. In this review, we tended to tease out the contribution of lactate in tumor progression and immunomodulation. And we also discussed the accessory role of lactate, beyond as the energy source only, in the growth of invading pathogens.