LactateEvidence & Dosage
Fuel, not a waste product — modern lactate research.
Evidence at a glance
- Total studies
- 349
- With abstract
- 48
- Meta / Systematic / RCT
- 1
- Highly cited
- 16
- Publication years
- 1971–2026
Lactate in the context of Performance
This topic is part of our "Performance" world. There you'll find methodology, evidence and the highest-impact levers — plus the order in which they sensibly build on each other.
Go to PerformanceTop studies on Lactate
Ranked by influential-citation count and publication year.
Lactate modulation of immune responses in inflammatory versus tumour microenvironments.
Nat Rev Immunol2021n=8Review200 influential citationsThe microenvironment in cancerous tissues is immunosuppressive and pro-tumorigenic, whereas the microenvironment of tissues affected by chronic inflammatory disease is pro-inflammatory and anti-resolution. Despite these opposing…
Alanyl-tRNA synthetase, AARS1, is a lactate sensor and lactyltransferase that lactylates p53 and contributes to tumorigenesis.
Cell2024200 influential citationsLysine lactylation is a post-translational modification that links cellular metabolism to protein function. Here, we find that AARS1 functions as a lactate sensor that mediates global lysine lacylation in tumor cells. AARS1 binds to…
Lactate activates the mitochondrial electron transport chain independently of its metabolism.
Molecular cell2023174 influential citationsLactate has long been considered a cellular waste product. However, we found that as extracellular lactate accumulates, it also enters the mitochondrial matrix and stimulates mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) activity. The…
Foxp3 reprograms T cell metabolism to function in low glucose high lactate environments
Cell Metabolism201747 influential citationsImmune cells function in diverse metabolic environments. Tissues with low glucose and high lactate concentrations, such as the intestinal tract or ischemic tissues, frequently require immune responses to be more pro-tolerant, avoiding…
Lactate promotes macrophage HMGB1 lactylation, acetylation, and exosomal release in polymicrobial sepsis
Cell Death and Differentiation202125 influential citationsHigh circulating levels of lactate and high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) are associated with the severity and mortality of sepsis. However, it is unclear whether lactate could promote HMGB1 release during sepsis. The present study…
Lactate in the Regulation of Tumor Microenvironment and Therapeutic Approaches
Frontiers in Oncology201920 influential citationsTumor cells must generate sufficient ATP and biosynthetic precursors in order to maintain cell proliferation requirements. Otto Warburg showed that tumor cells uptake high amounts of glucose producing large volumes of lactate even in the…
AARS1 and AARS2 sense l-lactate to regulate cGAS as global lysine lactyltransferases
Nature202418 influential citationsL-lactate modifies proteins through lactylation<sup>1</sup>, but how this process occurs is unclear. Here we identify the alanyl-tRNA synthetases AARS1 and AARS2 (AARS1/2) as intracellular L-lactate sensors required for L-lactate to…
Lactate/GPR81 signaling and proton motive force in cancer: Role in angiogenesis, immune escape, nutrition, and Warburg phenomenon.
Pharmacology and Therapeutics201914 influential citationsReprogramming of biochemical pathways is a hallmark of cancer cells, and generation of lactic acid from glucose/glutamine represents one of the consequences of such metabolic alterations. Cancer cells export lactic acid out to prevent…
Lactate: A Metabolic Driver in the Tumour Landscape.
TIBS -Trends in Biochemical Sciences. Regular ed201913 influential citationsThe presence of lactate in human tumours has been long neglected, confined to the role of a waste product derived from glycolysis and as a biomarker of malignancy. More recently, lactate has been rediscovered as signalling molecule that…
Lactate-Lactylation Hands between Metabolic Reprogramming and Immunosuppression
International Journal of Molecular Sciences202212 influential citationsImmune evasion and metabolic reprogramming are two fundamental hallmarks of cancer. Interestingly, lactate closely links them together. However, lactate has long been recognized as a metabolic waste product. Lactate and the acidification…
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