Intermittent fasting can enhance the regenerative capacity of intestinal stem cells, a new study in mice shows, but it also has some drawbacks.
Intermittent fasting has become one of the most popular dietswith studies that relate it to several health benefits. However, researchers continue to study its effects on the metabolism.
In a scientific study Using mice, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US analyzed how fasting can help regenerate intestinal stem cells. These cells are the source of new intestinal cells and its regeneration can help the intestine.
They observed three groups of mice: The first fasted for 24 hours, the second fasted for 24 hours and then ate unrestricted for the next 24 hours, and the third control group ate freely throughout the experiment.
The researchers identified a specific pathway responsible for improved regeneration that is activated when the mice eat again after a period of fasting, according to their findings published in the journal ‘Nature‘. “We believe that fasting and refeeding represent two different states,” states in a statement Shinya Imada, a postdoctoral researcher at MIT and one of the lead authors of the study.
“In the fasting state, the ability of cells to use lipids and fatty acids as energy source It allows them to survive when nutrients are scarce. And then it’s the post-fasting refeeding state that really drives regeneration. When nutrients are available, these stem and progenitor cells activate programs that allow them to build cell mass and repopulate the intestinal lining,” he adds.
Cancer risk
However, there is a caveat: if cancerous mutations During this regenerative phase, mice are at increased risk of developing early-stage intestinal tumors.
“Having more stem cell activity is good for regeneration, but too much of a good thing over time can have less favorable consequences“says Omer Yilmaz, associate professor of biology at MIT and lead author of the new study.
Intestinal stem cells help renew the lining of the intestine, which is completely replaced every five to ten days. This rapid division makes them more likely to develop precancerous changes than other types of cells in the intestine.
The researchers also found that mutations that developed during the refeeding phase were more likely to lead to training of polyps compared to those produced in non-fasting mice.
The researchers highlighted that the study was carried out andn mice with specific cancer mutations and that the more intricate human context could yield different results.
“We still have a lot to learn, but it is interesting that being in a fasting or refed state when exposure to the mutagen occurs can have a profound impact on the probability of developing cancer in these well-defined mouse models,” Yilmaz said.
