Ketone bodies, traditionally understood as an alternative fuel source during fasting, are now revealed to be powerful signaling metabolites with significant implications for brain health and aging. Research at the Buck Institute demonstrates that these metabolites directly interact with misfolded proteins in the brain by altering their structure and enabling their clearance through autophagy, a process that goes beyond previous theories of energy production or inflammation reduction.
Scientists discovered that ketone bodies, particularly β-hydroxybutyrate, can make damaged proteins insoluble so they can be removed from cells, a mechanism observed in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease and in nematode worms genetically modified to express human amyloid beta. The study, published in Cell Chemical Biology, showed dramatic improvements in protein aggregation, with treated nematode worms recovering their mobility after ketone body treatment. Overall, this groundbreaking research suggests a new link between metabolism and aging, offering exciting potential for developing therapies that could help clear damaged proteins in neurodegenerative diseases.
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