New research led by The University of
Texas Health Science Center at San
Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) finds that a continuous,
long-term ketogenic diet may induce senescence, or aged, cells in
normal tissues, with particular implications for heart and kidney
function. But planned breaks from the diet could help in
prevention.
SAN
ANTONIO, May 17, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A
strict "keto-friendly" diet popular for weight loss and diabetes,
depending on both the diet and individual, might not be all that
friendly.
A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at
San Antonio (UT Health San
Antonio) found that a continuous long-term ketogenic diet may
induce senescence, or aged, cells in normal tissues, with effects
on heart and kidney function in particular. However, an
intermittent ketogenic diet, with a planned keto vacation or break,
did not exhibit any pro-inflammatory effects due to aged cells,
according to the research.
The findings have significant clinical implications suggesting
that the beneficial effect of a ketogenic diet might be enhanced by
planned breaks.
"To put this in perspective, 13 million Americans use a
ketogenic diet, and we are saying that you need to take breaks from
this diet or there could be long-term consequences," said
David Gius, MD, PhD, assistant dean
of research and professor with the Department of Radiation Oncology
in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long
School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, and associate
cancer director for translational research at the institution's
Mays Cancer Center.
He is lead author of the new study titled, "Ketogenic diet
induces p53-dependent cellular senescence in multiple organs,"
published May 17 in the journal
Science Advances. Other authors also are with the Department of
Radiation Oncology and Mays Cancer Center, as well as the Sam and
Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, Center for
Precision Medicine, School of Nursing, and Division of Nephrology
in the Department of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio; and both
the Houston Methodist Cancer Center and Houston Methodist Research
Institute.
Too much of a good thing
A ketogenic diet, popularly known as keto-friendly, is a
high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that leads to the generation of
ketones, a type of chemical that the liver produces when it breaks
down fats. While a ketogenic diet improves certain health
conditions and is popular for weight loss, pro-inflammatory effects
also have been reported.
The new study shows that mice on two different ketogenic diets,
and at different ages, induce cellular senescence in multiple
organs, including the heart and kidney. However, this cellular
senescence was eliminated by a senolytic, or a class of small
molecules that can destroy senescence cells, and prevented by
administration of an intermittent ketogenic diet regimen.
"As cellular senescence has been implicated in the pathology of
organ disease, our results have important clinical implications for
understanding the use of a ketogenic diet," Gius said. "As with
other nutrient interventions, you need to 'take a keto break.'
"
UT Health San Antonio is the largest academic research
institution in South Texas with an
annual research portfolio of $413
million.
Ketogenic diet induces p53-dependent cellular senescence in
multiple organs
Sung-Jen Wei, Joseph R. Schell, E. Sandra Chocron, Mahboubeh Varmazyad,
Guogang Xu, Wan Hsi Chen, Gloria M.
Martinez, Felix F. Dong,
Prethish Sreenivas, Rolando Trevino
Jr., Haiyan Jiang,
Yan Du, Afaf
Saliba, Wei Qian,
Brandon Lorenzana, Alia Nazarullah,
Jenny Chang, Kumar Sharma, Erin
Munkacsy, Nobuo Horikoshi,
David Gius*
*lead author
First published: May 17, 2024,
Science Advances
The University of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio (UT
Health San Antonio) is one of the country's leading health science
universities and is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by
the U.S. Department of Education. With missions of teaching,
research, patient care and community engagement, its schools of
medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions, graduate
biomedical sciences and public health have graduated more than
42,550 alumni who are leading change, advancing their fields and
renewing hope for patients and their families throughout
South Texas and the world. To
learn about the many ways "We make lives betterĀ®," visit
https://uthscsa.edu
The UT Health San Antonio Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine is listed
among U.S. News & World Report's best medical schools, ranking
in the top 30% nationwide for research. To learn more, visit
https://uthscsa.edu/medicine/.
The Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio is one of only
four National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Centers in
Texas. The Mays Cancer Center
provides leading-edge cancer care, propels innovative cancer
research and educates the next generation of leaders to end cancer
in South Texas. To learn more,
visit https://cancer.uthscsa.edu.
Media Contact
Steven Lee, The University of Texas Health Science Center at
San Antonio, 210-450-3823,
lees22@uthscsa.edu, https://news.uthscsa.edu/
Eileen Teves, The University of Texas Health Science Center at
San Antonio, 210-450-7239,
tevese@uthscsa.edu, https://news.uthscsa.edu/
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SOURCE The University of Texas
Health Science Center at San
Antonio