In hepatocellular carcinoma, ALDOA K230/K322 lactylation weakens its strong binding affinity with DEAD-box helicase 17, leading to their dissociation in the cytoplasm and promoting DEAD-box helicase 17 nuclear translocation and SOX2 upregulation, sustaining liver cancer stem cells properties (Feng et al., 2024). Here, ALDOA is linked to liver cancer.