Metabolites are intermediate products of cellular metabolism catalysed by various
enzymes. Metabolic remodelling, as a biochemical fingerprint of
cancer cells, causes abnormal metabolite accumulation. These metabolites mainly generate energy or serve as signal transduction mediators via noncovalent interactions. After the development of highly sensitive mass spectrometry technology, various metabolites were shown to covalently modify
proteins via forms of
lysine acylation, including
lysine acetylation, crotonylation, lactylation, succinylation, propionylation, butyrylation, malonylation, glutarylation, 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation and β-hydroxybutyrylation. These modifications can regulate gene expression and intracellular signalling pathways, highlighting the extensive roles of metabolites.
Lysine acetylation is not discussed in detail in this review since it has been broadly investigated. We focus on the nine aforementioned novel
lysine acylations beyond acetylation, which can be classified into two categories:
histone acylations and nonhistone acylations. We summarize the characteristics and common functions of these acylation types and, most importantly, provide a glimpse into their fine-tuned control of
tumorigenesis and potential value in tumour diagnosis, monitoring and
therapy.