[Research progress on protein lactylation modification in malignant tumors].

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Cancer Biology

Background:

• Malignant tumors exhibit the Warburg effect, producing lactate even aerobically.
• Lactate is a signaling molecule regulating gene expression via protein lactylation.
• Histone lactylation links cellular metabolism to epigenetic regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a systematic overview of protein lactylation in cancer.
• To elucidate the molecular mechanisms and recent advances in lactylation research.
• To explore therapeutic strategies targeting lactylation in tumors.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on protein lactylation.
• Analysis of proteomic studies on lactylation.
• Discussion of enzymatic mechanisms (writers and erasers).

Main Results:

• Lactylation modifies histones and non-histone proteins in tumors.
• Histone lactylation alters chromatin and gene expression.
• Non-histone protein lactylation affects signaling, metabolism, and DNA repair.
• Lactylation drives malignant phenotypes: immune evasion, metastasis, therapy resistance, metabolic dysregulation.

Conclusions:

• Lactylation is a dynamic epigenetic and functional regulatory mechanism in cancer.
• Targeting lactylation offers novel therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment.
• Further research is needed to address enzyme specificity and functional validation.