Lactate-Activated GPR132 Signaling Drives a Tumor Microenvironmental Autocrine Metabolic Loop in Kidney Cancer.

Lactate-activated GPR132 signaling promotes kidney cancer growth by sustaining mitochondrial function and lactate uptake, with GPR132 blockade impairing tumor progression.

• Why it matters: Understanding how lactate supports tumor growth is crucial because it reveals potential targets to disrupt tumor metabolism and improve treatments for highly glycolytic cancers like ccRCC.
• What they did: The study examined GPR132, a lactate sensor highly expressed in ccRCC, using molecular and in vivo approaches, including a small molecule antagonist to assess its role in tumor growth.
• The result: Blocking GPR132 impaired tumor growth by disrupting mitochondrial integrity and lactate import, highlighting GPR132 as a promising therapeutic target to interfere with tumor metabolic crosstalk.