《生命科学》 2026, 38(10): 1765-1777

单羧酸转运蛋白介导运动健康效益作用研究进展

任仲勋¹ , 吴柏乐¹ , 钱嘉宇¹ , 范紫菡¹ , 张严焱^1,2,3 , 石丽君^1,2,3,*

¹北京体育大学运动生理学教研室，北京 100084 ²国家体育总局运动与应激适应重点实验室，北京 100084 ³北京体育大学运动与体质健康教育部重点实验室，北京 100084

摘　要：

单羧酸转运蛋白（monocarboxylate transporters， MCTs）是介导乳酸跨膜转运的蛋白家族，对维持细胞代谢稳态至关重要。运动作为强烈的生理刺激，其健康效益与MCTs 的适应性调控密切相关。现有研究已证实，运动能特异性调控骨骼肌、心脏和大脑中MCTs 的表达以适应各组织功能需求。但是，这些发现多停留在相关性层面，其因果关系、上游信号整合机制及MCTs 介导的乳酸双重角色仍需深入阐明。因此，本文系统综述了运动对关键组织MCTs 的调控，重点阐明MCTs 连接代谢物转运与信号调节的双重角色，为揭示运动健康效应的因果机制及靶向干预提供了新视角。

通讯作者：石丽君 , Email:shilj@bsu.edu.cn

Role of monocarboxylate transporters in mediating the health benefits of exercise

REN Zhong-Xun¹ , WU Bai-Le¹ , QIAN Jia-Yu¹ , FAN Zi-Han¹ , ZHANG Yan-Yan^1,2,3 , SHI Li-Jun^1,2,3,*

¹Department of Exercise Physiology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China ²Laboratory of Sports Stress and Adaptation of General Administration of Sport of China, Beijing 100084, China ³Key Laboratory of Physical Fitness and Exercise, Ministry of Education, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China

Abstract:

Monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs), members of the solute carrier family 16 (SLC16), primarily mediate the proton-coupled transmembrane transport of lactate and other monocarboxylates, playing a crucial role in maintaining cellular metabolic homeostasis. Regular exercise is a cornerstone for health promotion and chronic disease prevention, and its broad health benefits are closely linked to the adaptive regulation of MCTs. Current evidence demonstrates that exercise specifically modulates MCT expression in skeletal muscle, heart, and brain to meet tissue-specific functional demands. In skeletal muscle, endurance training predominantly upregulates MCT1 via the PGC-1α pathway to enhance oxidative lactate utilization, whereas high-intensity training upregulates MCT4 through the HIF-1α pathway to facilitate lactate efflux, with the chaperone CD147 being essential for MCT membrane trafficking and function. In the heart, exercise-induced MCT1 upregulation enhances myocardial lactate uptake and utilization, serving as a critical corrective mechanism particularly under pathological conditions such as diabetes and heart failure. In the brain, exercise upregulates MCT1, MCT2, and MCT4, reinforcing the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle and activating neuroplasticity-related signaling pathways including BDNF and mTOR. Notably, MCTs function beyond mere metabolite transporters. By regulating intra- and extracellular lactate gradients, MCTs enable lactate to act as a signaling molecule that activates metabolic regulatory pathways and drives epigenetic modifications such as histone lactylation, thereby playing pivotal roles in improving insulin sensitivity, protecting cardiovascular function, enhancing cognition, and promoting exercise adaptation. However, the direct causal relationships between MCT alterations and health outcomes, the molecular switch governing lactate's transition between energy substrate and signaling molecule, and the integrative logic among multiple signaling pathways remain to be elucidated. This review systematically summarizes exercise-induced MCT regulation in key tissues and the resulting health benefits, emphasizing the dual role of MCTs in linking metabolite transport with signal transduction, and providing perspectives for uncovering causal mechanisms of exercise-derived health benefits and potential targeted interventions.

Communication Author：SHI Li-Jun , Email:shilj@bsu.edu.cn