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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1496390

Lactate: a rising star in tumors and inflammation

Provisionally accepted
  • Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Lactate has been traditionally regarded as a mere byproduct of glycolysis or metabolic waste.However, an increasing body of literature suggests its critical role in regulating various physiological and pathological processes. Lactate is generally associated with hypoxia, inflammation, viral infections, and tumors. It performs complex physiological roles by activating monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) or the G protein-coupled receptor GPR81 across the cell membrane. Lactate exerts immunosuppressive effects by regulating the functions of various immune cells (such as natural killer cells, T cells, dendritic cells, and monocytes) and its role in macrophage polarization and myeloidderived suppressor cell (MDSC) differentiation in the tumor microenvironment. Lactic acid has also recently been found to increase the density of CD8 + T cells, thereby enhancing the antitumor immune response. Acute or chronic inflammatory diseases have opposite immune states in the inflammatory disease microenvironment. Factors such as cell types, transcriptional regulators, ionic mediators, and the microenvironment all contribute to the diverse functions lactate exhibits. Herein, we reviewed the pleiotropic effects of lactate on the regulation of various functions of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment and under inflammatory conditions, which may help to provide new insights and potential targets for the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory diseases and malignancies.

    Keywords: Lactate, tumor, Inflammatory, Diseases, Therapy -

    Received: 14 Sep 2024; Accepted: 04 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Pan, Liu, Zenglin, Li, Huang, Guo and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hui Liu, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.