ReviewNature metabolism2020
Lactate: the ugly duckling of energy metabolism.
Review in Nature metabolism, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 616 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
616 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 957 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of lactate-based therapies on intracranial pressure and brain metabolism of patients with acute brain injury: a systematic review.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Cerebral fuels within the first week of life in very preterm infants: a cohort study.Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition · 2026Trial
- Effects of ischemic preconditioning on lower-limb anaerobic performance and neuromuscular adaptations.PeerJ · 2026Trial
- Ischemic preconditioning enhances energy supply during frequency speed kick test in Taekwondo athletes: A randomized crossover study.PloS one · 2026Trial
- IntratumorGut microbes · 2026Article
- Exercise intensity as a modulator of gut microbiota and host metabolic health in obesity.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Exercise-induced protein lactylation: From molecular mechanisms to precision health applications.iScience · 2026Review
- [Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2026Review
- Theranostic Potential of an NAD(P)H-Activatable Fluorophore: Assessing Cancer Aggressiveness and Triggering Apoptosis.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2026Article
- Histone H4K5 lactylation-driven feedback loop modulates glycerol-linked immunosuppressive activity of tumor-associated T regulatory cells.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Article
- Lactate metabolism and protein lactylation in programmed cell death: From novel mechanism to therapeutic strategies in human diseases.Clinical and translational medicine · 2026Review
- The lactate-lactylation axis in acute kidney injury: mechanisms from metabolic reprogramming to epigenetic regulation and clinical therapeutic prospects.International urology and nephrology · 2026Review
- Unveiling the "Glycolysis-Lactate-Lactylation" Axis: A Novel Target in Ischemic Cerebrovascular Disease.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Review
- Translating Blue Light Stimulation From Batch to Perfusion: Process and Intracellular Metabolic Analysis.Biotechnology and bioengineering · 2026Article
- Bioenergetic Materials for Tissue Regeneration: Modulating Metabolism to Promote Cellular Anabolism.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Glutathione Redox Changes in Pulmonary Arterial Blood After Remote Ischemic Conditioning in Pulmonary Hypertension: A Single-Arm Pilot Study.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- The diversity of terminal electron acceptors across eukaryotes.Trends in biochemical sciences · 2026Review
- Article
- Injection site dictates the immune response to a biodegradable polymer and corresponding collagen regeneration.Bioactive materials · 2026Article
556 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Lactate, perhaps the best-known metabolic waste product, was first isolated from sour milk, in which it is produced by lactobacilli. Whereas microbes also generate other fermentation products, such as ethanol or acetone, lactate dominates in mammals. Lactate production increases when the demand for ATP and oxygen exceeds supply, as occurs during intense exercise and ischaemia. The build-up of lactate in stressed muscle and ischaemic tissues has established lactate's reputation as a deleterious waste product. In this Perspective, we summarize emerging evidence that, in mammals, lactate also serves as a major circulating carbohydrate fuel. By providing mammalian cells with both a convenient source and sink for three-carbon compounds, circulating lactate enables the uncoupling of carbohydrate-driven mitochondrial energy generation from glycolysis. Lactate and pyruvate together serve as a circulating redox buffer that equilibrates the NADH/NAD ratio across cells and tissues. This reconceptualization of lactate as a fuel-analogous to how Hans Christian Andersen's ugly duckling is actually a beautiful swan-has the potential to reshape the field of energy metabolism.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.