Physiological significance of elevated levels of lactate by exercise training in the brain and body
Abstract
For the past 200 years, lactate has been regarded as a metabolic waste end product that causes fatigue during exercise. However, lactate production is closely correlated with energy metabolism. The lactate dehydrogenase-catalyzed reaction uses protons to produce lactate, which delays ongoing metabolic acidosis. Of note, lactate production differs depending on exercise intensity and is not limited to muscles. Importantly, controlling physiological effect of lactate may be a solution to alleviating some chronic diseases. Released through exercise, lactate is an important biomarker for fat oxidation in skeletal muscles. During recovery after sustained strenuous exercise, most of the lactate accumulated during exercise is removed by direct oxidation. However, as the muscle respiration rate decreases, lactate becomes a desirable substrate for hepatic glucose synthesis. Furthermore, improvement in brain function by lactate, particularly, through the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, is being increasingly studied. In addition, it is possible to improve stress-related symptoms, such as depression, by regulating the function of hippocampal mitochondria, and with an increasingly aging society, lactate is being investigated as a preventive agent for brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, the perception that lactate is equivalent to fatigue should no longer exist. This review focuses on the new perception of lactate and how lactate acts extensively in the skeletal muscles, heart, brain, kidney, and liver. Additionally, lactate is now used to confirm exercise performance and should be further studied to assess its impact on exercise training.
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An elevated blood lactate concentration, whether caused by exercise or lactate infusion, could cause several beneficial or detrimental changes in the motor cortex and hippocampus, suggesting that lactate is an important 'stress' or 'exerkine' for functional brain plasticity.
“An elevated blood lactate concentration, whether caused by exercise or lactate infusion, could cause several beneficial or detrimental changes in the motor cortex and hippocampus, suggesting that lactate is an important ‘stress’ or ‘exerkine’ for functional brain plasticity [18–20].”
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- Authors
- Lee, S., Choi, Y., Jeong, E., Park, J., Kim, J., Tanaka, M., & Choi, J.
- Affiliations
- Chung-Ang University (KR)
- Tokyo Institute of Technology (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Choi, Yonghyun
- Choi, Jonghoon
- Venue
- Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-03
- Volume
- 135
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 167-175
- ISSN
- 1347-4421 (ISSN-L)
- 1389-1723
- OpenAlex
- W4317708669
- Cited by
- 67
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 5
- FWCI
- 3.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Tokyo Tech Research Repository (Tokyo Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Exercise and Physiological Responses
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Keywords
- lactate, exercise training, energy metabolism, lactate dehydrogenase, metabolic acidosis, fat oxidation, brain function, vascular endothelial growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, depression, Alzheimer's disease, exercise performance, skeletal muscle, heart, kidney, liver
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Fatigue, Humans, Exercise, Muscle, Skeletal, Lactic Acid, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
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