Wang Xi, Liu Jiameng, Mao Chaoming, Mao Yufei
Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, China.
Department of Ultrasound Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212001, China.
Cell Commun Signal. 2025 May 25;23(1):239. doi: 10.1186/s12964-025-02244-6.
Lactate has long been viewed as a "waste product" of anaerobic glycolysis, with its role in health and disease often overlooked. However, recent discoveries of lactylation-a novel post-translational modification involving lactate-have sparked a renewed understanding of lactate's functions. Lactylation alters the molecular structure of proteins with different cellular localizations, enabling the regulation of their functions and aggregation in specific spatiotemporal contexts, with its impact on biomolecular phase separation being one of its primary effects. However, it remains unknown how lactylation dynamically regulates the spatiotemporal specificity of phase separation and its role in diseases. This article provides an overview of the regulatory mechanisms of biomolecular phase separation driven by lactylation, aiming to offer fresh insights into the role of lactylation in normal and disease-related biological processes while deepening our understanding of its research value and biological significance.
长期以来，乳酸一直被视为无氧糖酵解的“废物”，其在健康和疾病中的作用常常被忽视。然而，最近关于乳酰化（一种涉及乳酸的新型翻译后修饰）的发现引发了对乳酸功能的重新认识。乳酰化改变了具有不同细胞定位的蛋白质的分子结构，能够在特定的时空背景下调节其功能和聚集，其对生物分子相分离的影响是其主要作用之一。然而，乳酰化如何动态调节相分离的时空特异性及其在疾病中的作用仍不清楚。本文概述了由乳酰化驱动的生物分子相分离的调控机制，旨在为乳酰化在正常和疾病相关生物学过程中的作用提供新的见解，同时加深我们对其研究价值和生物学意义的理解。
