Fig. 1

Lactate promotes cell growth and is metabolized via the TCA cycle in CRC cells. a Colo205, b Ls174T, c Moser, and d HT29 cells were cultured in reduced nutrient media with and without 10 mM lactate. Cell number was determined after 6 days using a Countess automated cell counter. N = 3 ± SD. e Colo205, f Ls174T, and g Moser cells were cultured in reduced nutrient media with and without 10 mM lactate and OCR determined using the XF^e Seahorse Bioanalyzer. N ≥ 15 ± SEM. h m + 2 enrichment of ¹³C from ¹³C₃ lactate into TCA cycle metabolites in CRC cells. Colo205 cells were seeded in 6-cm dishes and incubated in reduced nutrient media overnight and then supplemented with 10 mM ¹³C₃ lactate for 6 h. Metabolites were analyzed using GCMS. N ≥ 3 ± SD. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001