Genetic code expansion reveals site-specific lactylation in living cells reshapes protein function

Abstract

Still in its infancy, the functions of lactylation remain elusive. To address this, we established a comprehensive workflow for lactylation studies that integrates the discovery of lactylation sites with proteomics, the expression of site-specifically lactylated proteins in living cells via genetic code expansion (GCE), and the evaluation of the resulting biological consequences. Specifically, we developed a wet-and-dry-lab combined proteomics strategy, and identified highly conserved lactylation at ALDOA-K147. Driven by its potential biological significance, we site-specifically expressed this lactylated ALDOA in mammalian cells and interrogated the biological changes. We discovered that it not only inhibited enzyme activity but also elicited gain-of-function effects-it dramatically reshaped the functionality of ALDOA by improving stability, enhancing nuclear translocation and affecting gene expression. Further, we demonstrated broad applicability of this workflow to study distinct histone lactylation sites. Together, we anticipate its wide uses in elucidating causative links between site-specific lactylation and target-centric or cell-wide changes.