Lactate and Lactic Acid: Cellular Energy
Genetic Lifehacks Weekly Newsletter
The first time you learn about something, there's a cognitive bias that happens called anchoring bias. The initial information is kind of a reference point, something that sticks in the mind.
For me, lactic acid and lactate were due to hard exercise causing my muscles to go anaerobic and ferment sugar.
Even though I understood the role of lactate in cellular metabolism, I still had it kind of slotted in my brain as a muscle waste product - something bad that needed to be worked out.
This new article on lactate was one that took a while for me to write. I actually went old-school and took notes with a pen and paper to get it all straight and organized in my head. Overwriting my cognitive bias.
What did I learn?
Lactate is an essential part of cellular energy production - constantly being produced in cells, exported out of cells to be used by other cells, and is essential for brain, heart, and muscle function. Yeah, essential. Not a waste product.
While we often hear lactic acid instead of lactate, 99% of it in the body at a normal pH exists as lactate, which is the conjugate base that lacks the hydrogen ion found in lactic acid.
Why is lactate important? Lactate transport and utilization are impaired in several important chronic diseases - like heart disease and neurodegeneration. In the brain, for example, neurons can't meet the energy demand through glycolysis. Astrocytes, which are glial cells that are found alongside neurons, help out by producing lactate, which is exported to the neighboring neuron.
So right now, while you're having a hard time wrapping your head around this excessively long sentence, your astrocytes are pumping out lactate for your neurons to use in reading and understanding what I'm saying about lactate.
Check out my new article and see if you find lactate as fascinating as I do. One thing that you'll notice in the genotype report section is that there aren't a lot of variants in the genes that encode the enzyme needed for the synthesis of lactate. This is true for most genes that are truly essential -- we can't live with variants that change them.
Gratefully yours,
Debbie
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Lactate, Lactate Dehydrogenase, and Lactate Transporters
Key takeaways:
~ Lactate is an essential cellular energy source that is particularly important in skeletal muscles, the brain, and the heart.
~ Lactate also acts as a signaling molecule and influences metabolism and gene expression.
~ Lactate transport and metabolism play a fundamental role in several chronic health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and fertility issues.
~ Genetic variants in the lactate transport genes can influence your need for lactate and response to exercise.
Read the rest of the article here
What I've been reading:
1. Psilocybin treatment extends cellular lifespan and improves survival of aged mice
Psilocybin increased SIRT1, decreased oxidative stress, and increased survival (in old mice).
2. Autism subtypes and genetics
This new study looks at four different phenotypes of autism and finds specific genetic susceptibility. For example, ASD with developmental delay was more likely to have inherited rare, high-impact mutations (compared to siblings), while children classified as broadly affected had more de novo (new, not inherited from parents) mutations.
From the abstract: "Long wavelength red light that can extend beyond the human visual range penetrates deeply through biological tissue. Exposure to these longer wavelengths improves mitochondrial function and ATP production. This can translate to improved physiological performance, particularly in the CNS, including the visual system. Light driven metabolic improvements to regional exposure can impact systemically. Here we show that infrared wavelengths from sunlight can be measured after they pass through the human thorax. We then select a prominent transmitted solar wavelength range (830–860 nm) and deliver this to the thorax of subjects in the lab in controlled 15 min exposures with and without ocular involvement. Clothing reduced wavelength intensity but was not a barrier. These exposures were associated with significantly improved visual function when measured 24 h later even in subjects in which light was blocked from the eyes."