L-lactate dehydrogenase

Overview

L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is a key metabolic enzyme that catalyzes the reversible interconversion of pyruvate and L-lactate with concomitant interconversion of NADH and NAD(^+). This reaction is central to anaerobic glycolysis, redox balance, and cellular energy metabolism. In biomedical literature, LDH is often discussed both as a functional enzyme and as a clinical biomarker, because elevated circulating LDH can reflect tissue injury, hemolysis, inflammation, hypoxia, or high tumor burden.

In recent research, L-lactate dehydrogenase has been studied in several contexts: as a prognostic marker in malignancy and inflammatory disease, as a readout of cell damage or pyroptosis in experimental systems, and as a potential therapeutic target in metabolic inhibition strategies. Its relevance spans cancer immunotherapy, cardiovascular and renal injury, COVID-19-associated complications, and experimental models of diabetes, fibrosis, and oxidative stress.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent publications have examined L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) primarily as a clinical biomarker and, in some settings, as a therapeutic target. In hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, maternal serum LDH was evaluated for its association with adverse pregnancy outcomes and for possible modification by metabolic risk factors. In post-COVID-19 syndrome, LDH was among the soluble blood biomarkers measured alongside markers of endothelial dysfunction and metabolism, and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with higher LDH levels. In severe COVID-19, LDH was also assessed in relation to inflammation and coagulation, where it showed statistically significant associations with coagulopathy in a critically ill cohort, although the reported correlations were weak and not statistically significant.

Several studies focused on LDH as a marker of tissue injury or treatment response. In a rabbit model of cartilage defects treated with allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells, serum LDH increased significantly in all MSC-treated groups compared with controls, while synovial fluid LDH did not change significantly, suggesting limited value for monitoring cartilage repair. In glioblastoma research, stiripentol was investigated as a putative LDH inhibitor; the compound produced only moderate LDH inhibition but was associated with increased reactive oxygen species, reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, and induction of senescence in tumor cells. Another cancer-focused study linked normal LDH levels with longer overall survival in the DDR-wild-type cohort of the MD Anderson IMPACT2 study, alongside absence of liver metastases and normal albumin.

LDH also appeared in studies of pathogen-specific diagnostics and drug discovery. A cellulose nanobead-based lateral flow immunoassay was developed for highly sensitive detection of Plasmodium vivax LDH, achieving improved sensitivity over conventional gold nanoparticle-based rapid tests and showing no cross-reactivity with P. falciparum LDH or human LDH. In parallel, computational drug design efforts targeted Babesia microti LDH, identifying sanguinarine derivatives with favorable docking scores, predicted pharmacokinetic properties, and stable molecular dynamics behavior. Together, these studies underscore LDH’s continuing relevance as a biomarker in pregnancy, infection, inflammation, and cancer, as well as a target for diagnostic and therapeutic development.

Key Publications

NEWJul Impact of prenatal maternal LDH levels on adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. (Taiwanese journal of obstetrics & gynecology, 2026, PMID 42362254): "This study aimed to evaluate the association between maternal serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), and to evaluate potential effect modification by metabolic risk factors."
NEWJun Serum and synovial lactate dehydrogenase levels after allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell implantation in rabbit cartilage defects. (Polish journal of veterinary sciences, 2026, PMID 42299097): "Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a biomarker of cell damage and inflammation, may provide insight into systemic and local tissue reactions."
NEWJun Highly sensitive detection of species-specific malaria antigens using a cellulose nanobead-based lateral flow immunoassay. (Mikrochimica acta, 2026, PMID 42295386): "...for the detection of P. vivax lactate dehydrogenase (PvLDH)."
May Endothelial dysfunction and metabolic biomarkers in post-COVID-19 syndrome. (Scientific reports, 2026, PMID 42129413): "At a median of 37.4 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection, participants with prior infection showed higher levels of soluble thrombomodulin (TM) and L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) than those without previous infection."
May Cross-talk between inflammation and coagulation in severe COVID-19: Association of leptin and classical pro-inflammatory markers with coagulation disorders in a single-center observational cohort study. (Medicine, 2026, PMID 42065184): "We found statistically significant associations between blood levels of various biomarkers including leptin, IL-6, ferritin, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and lactate dehydrogenase and the presence of coagulopathy, as indicated by the Pearson Chi-Square and Likelihood Ratio tests."
May Mitochondrial dysfunction and senescence accompany glioblastoma cell death triggered by a putative metabolic inhibitor. (European journal of pharmacology, 2026, PMID 42035940): "We aimed at targeting the metabolic reprogramming of cancer by using stiripentol (STP), a putative lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) inhibitor and an FDA-approved anti-epileptic drug."
Apr Outcomes of patients with or without DNA repair pathway alterations: the MD Anderson IMPACT2 study. (NPJ precision oncology, 2026, PMID 41963611): "In the DDR-wild-type cohort, independent factors predicting longer OS were IO therapy (compared with each other treatment group: vs. IO+non-IO combinations, p=0.003; vs. chemotherapy, p<0.001; vs. anti-DDR agents, p<0.001; vs. other targeted therapies, p=0.006), absence of liver metastases (p<0.001), and normal albumin (p<0.001) and lactate dehydrogenase (p=0.001) levels."
Apr Dual Energy Depletion by Zinc/Copper Disruptor to Potentiate Cuproptosis and Pyroptosis for Enhanced Tumor Immunotherapy. (ACS nano, 2026, PMID 41941350): "Functionally, Zn2+ acts as a metabolic inhibitor to suppress glycolysis by directly restraining lactate dehydrogenase activity and downregulating the PI3K/Akt/HIF-1α axis, thus reducing lactate output and limiting adenosine triphosphate generation."
Feb Structure-based drug design of sanguinarine derivatives targeting Babesia microti lactate dehydrogenase through computational approaches. (Journal of molecular graphics & modelling, 2026, PMID 41932198): "In this study, we harnessed a computational drug design pipeline to develop novel sanguinarine derivatives targeting B. microti lactate dehydrogenase (BmLDH)-an essential enzyme for parasite metabolism."