Ketogenic Diet: A New Light Shining on Old but Gold Biochemistry
Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milano, Italia
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Nutrients 2019, 11(10), 2497; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102497
Received: 5 August 2019
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Revised: 8 October 2019
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Accepted: 10 October 2019
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Published: 17 October 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ketogenic Dietary Therapies: Recent Findings and Future Perspectives)
Diets low in carbohydrates and proteins and enriched in fat stimulate the hepatic synthesis of ketone bodies (KB). These molecules are used as alternative fuel for energy production in target tissues. The synthesis and utilization of KB are tightly regulated both at transcriptional and hormonal levels. The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α (PPARα), currently recognized as one of the master regulators of ketogenesis, integrates nutritional signals to the activation of transcriptional networks regulating fatty acid β-oxidation and ketogenesis. New factors, such as circadian rhythms and paracrine signals, are emerging as important aspects of this metabolic regulation. However, KB are currently considered not only as energy substrates but also as signaling molecules. β-hydroxybutyrate has been identified as class I histone deacetylase inhibitor, thus establishing a connection between products of hepatic lipid metabolism and epigenetics. Ketogenic diets (KD) are currently used to treat different forms of infantile epilepsy, also caused by genetic defects such as Glut1 and Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Deficiency Syndromes. However, several researchers are now focusing on the possibility to use KD in other diseases, such as cancer, neurological and metabolic disorders. Nonetheless, clear-cut evidence of the efficacy of KD in other disorders remains to be provided in order to suggest the adoption of such diets to metabolic-related pathologies.
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Keywords:
ketogenic diet; ketone body regulation; epigenetics; epilepsy; cancer; neurological disorders; metabolic disorders
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MDPI and ACS Style
Longo, R.; Peri, C.; Cricrì, D.; Coppi, L.; Caruso, D.; Mitro, N.; De Fabiani, E.; Crestani, M. Ketogenic Diet: A New Light Shining on Old but Gold Biochemistry. Nutrients 2019, 11, 2497. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102497
AMA Style
Longo R, Peri C, Cricrì D, Coppi L, Caruso D, Mitro N, De Fabiani E, Crestani M. Ketogenic Diet: A New Light Shining on Old but Gold Biochemistry. Nutrients. 2019; 11(10):2497. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102497
Chicago/Turabian StyleLongo, Raffaella, Carolina Peri, Dalma Cricrì, Lara Coppi, Donatella Caruso, Nico Mitro, Emma De Fabiani, and Maurizio Crestani. 2019. "Ketogenic Diet: A New Light Shining on Old but Gold Biochemistry" Nutrients 11, no. 10: 2497. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102497
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