Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that a compound produced by the body when fasting can block a part of the immune system involved in type 2 diabetes and other inflammatory disorders, including atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, indicate the compound known as BHB directly blocks proteins called inflammasomes that drive inflammatory responses seen in many health disorders. BHB is produced by the body in response to fasting, high-intensity exercise, caloric restriction, or consumption of the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet.
Lead researcher Vishwa Deep Dixit, a professor of medicine at Yale, noted fasting and calorie restriction has long been known to reduce inflammation in the body, but it was unclear how immune cells adapt to reduced availability of glucose and respond to metabolites produced from fat oxidation.
"Our results suggest that the endogenous metabolites like BHB that are produced during low-carb dieting, fasting, or high-intensity exercise can lower [inflammasomes]," said Vishwa Deep Dixit, a professor of medicine at Yale.
"These findings are important because endogenous metabolites like BHB … could be relevant against many inflammatory diseases."
The Yale team’s research involved mice and human immune cells and could lead to new approaches to treating diabetes and other conditions.
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