Advances in Novel Protein Acylation in Urothelial Carcinoma: Research Progress and Biomarker Potential

Abstract

: Protein acylation serves as an important molecular bridge between metabolic status and cellular function. It is becoming a key entry point for understanding tumor initiation, progression, and treatment resistance. In urothelial carcinoma (UC), metabolic reprogramming may alter the availability of acyl donors, including lactyl-CoA (coenzyme A), succinyl-CoA, crotonyl-CoA, and palmitoyl-CoA. This can affect acylation on both histone and non-histone proteins. This review focuses on four metabolism-related acylation modifications: lactylation, succinylation, crotonylation, and palmitoylation. Itummarizes their regulatory mechanisms, biological functions, and recent research progress in cancer. It further discusses their potential roles in UC progression, immune remodeling, inflammation regulation, treatment resistance, and biomarker development. Current evidence suggests that metabolism-dependent acylation modifications may promote malignant progression of UC by coordinating tumor metabolism, epigenetic regulation, and oncogenic signaling pathways. Therefore, this review aims to summarize recent advances in novel protein acylation modifications in UC, clarify their dynamic regulatory networks, and discuss their potential value in disease classification, prognostic assessment, therapeutic target identification, and personalized treatment strategies.