Histone H3K18 lactylation and cisplatin resistance in bladder cancer: insights from single-cell transcriptomic analysis

The study by Li et al. , “Single-cell transcriptome analysis reveals the association between histone lactylation and cisplatin resistance in bladder cancer”, investigated how histone lactylation contributes to cisplatin resistance in bladder cancer (BCa). Using high-resolution single-cell lineage tracing, the authors identified a distinct subpopulation of BCa cells with enhanced glycolytic metabolism that exhibited significant cisplatin resistance. Further analyses showed significant enrichment of histone H3 lysine 18 lactylation (H3K18la) at the promoter regions of the transcription factors YY1 and YBX1, which promoted their expression and facilitated the development of a drug-resistant phenotype. This study was the first to combine single-cell omics with lactylation modification mechanisms, providing new insights into strategies for overcoming cisplatin resistance in BCa. Nonetheless, potential limitations of the study should be carefully considered.