骨骼肌(skeletal muscle)作为人体重要的运动器官,其稳态的维持对于机体各项生命活动至关重要。运动通过影响骨骼肌生成与降解、调节骨骼肌代谢平衡等多种方式,在维持骨骼肌稳态中扮演重要角色。然而,运动维持骨骼肌稳态的具体机制尚不完全清楚。运动,尤其是高强度运动,能够促进骨骼肌细胞糖酵解过程,进而产生乳酸。近来研究揭示了一个新的视角,即乳酸可作为蛋白质乳酸化(lactylation)修饰的供体,对包括组蛋白和非组蛋白在内的多种蛋白质进行乳酸化修饰。这种修饰对骨骼肌多种生理功能的维持发挥关键作用。鉴于此,本文综述了近年来关于乳酸与蛋白质乳酸化修饰的研究,并深入探讨乳酸及其衍生的蛋白质乳酸化修饰在维持骨骼肌稳态中的作用及其潜在机制,以期为运动防治骨骼肌相关疾病提供新视野和新靶点。

As a vital locomotor organ in the human body, skeletal muscle plays a crucial role in sustaining life, and the maintenance of its homeostasis is fundamental to the proper execution of various physiological functions. Exercise influences skeletal muscle through multiple mechanisms, notably by regulating muscle protein synthesis and degradation, and by modulating metabolic balance, thereby contributing significantly to the maintenance of skeletal muscle homeostasis. However, the specific mechanisms by which exercise maintains skeletal muscle homeostasis have not yet been fully elucidated. Notably, high-intensity exercise promotes glycolysis within skeletal muscle, resulting in lactate production. Recent studies, however, have revealed a new perspective: lactate can serve as a donor for protein lactylation, modifying both histone and non-histone proteins. This modification plays a critical role in various physiological activities within skeletal muscle. In this context, this review summarizes recent research on lactate and lactylation, exploring their roles and potential mechanisms in maintaining skeletal muscle homeostasis, with the aim of providing novel insights and therapeutic targets for preventing and treating skeletal muscle-associated diseases through exercise.