Beta-hydroxybutyrate produced from a ketogenic diet, fasting, or high-intensity exercise dampens inflammation via blocking of the NLRP3 inflammasome
From the article:
BHB is a metabolite produced by the body in response to fasting, high-intensity exercise, caloric restriction, or consumption of the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet. Dixit said it is well known that fasting and calorie restriction reduces inflammation in the body, but it was unclear how immune cells adapt to reduced availability of glucose and if they can respond to metabolites produced from fat oxidation.
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Working with mice and human immune cells, Dixit and colleagues focused on how macrophages – specialized immune cells that produce inflammation – respond when exposed to ketone bodies and whether that impacts the inflammasone complex.
The team introduced BHB to mouse models of inflammatory diseases caused by NLP3. They found that this reduced inflammation, and that inflammation was also reduced when the mice were given a ketogenic diet, which elevates the levels of BHB in the bloodstream.