In summary, as HIF-1α can affect the level of protein lactylation by regulating the expression of key enzymes of glycolysis and lactate transporter proteins, HDAC inhibitors may control ischemic stroke-induced protein lactylation by regulating the activity of HIF-1α, thereby alleviating abnormal excitation of neurons (Hagihara et al., 2021; Wu et al., 2023; Zhang et al., 2022). The gene discussed is HDAC9; the disease is ischemic stroke.