UT Southwestern Medical CenterTargeting Lactate Metabolism for Cancer Immunotherapy

Could the byproduct of your workout be the next breakthrough in cancer treatment?

A study conducted by researchers at UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center introduces a novel perspective on lactate, an often-overlooked metabolic byproduct of strenuous exercise, by highlighting its potential role in enhancing cancer immunotherapies.

Key Points:

• UT Southwestern researchers discovered that lactate, produced by cells during strenuous exercise, could rejuvenate immune cells to combat cancer.
• Sodium lactate was found to stimulate the activity of stem-like CD8+ T cells, thus promoting an anti-tumor effect.
• Tumor-bearing mice treated with sodium lactate exhibited slowed tumor growth and increased survival rate, an effect dependent on the presence of T cells.
• The combination of lactate and anti-PD-1 therapy resulted in a survival rate of 50% in mice, outperforming the control group.
• Notably, glucose, another nutrient utilized by cancer cells, did not amplify the efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy.

Additional Points:

• The study was co-led by Professors Jinming Gao, Baran Sumer, Bo Li, and postdoctoral fellow Qiang Feng.
• The researchers used three mouse tumor models to explore potential clinical applications.
• The research team plans further investigation on lactate versus lactic acid effects on different immune cell types.

Conclusion:

• The study’s findings could potentially open new avenues for enhancing the therapeutic outcomes of immune checkpoint blockade, T-cell vaccine, and adoptive T-cell transfer therapy using lactate.

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