fbpx

Science

Study Title
Fasting-Mimicking Diet Promotes Ngn3-Driven Beta-Cell Regeneration to Reverse Diabetes
Publication
Cell
Author(s)

Chia-Wei Cheng, Valentina Villani, Roberta Buono, Min Wei, Sanjeev Kumar, Omer H. Yilmaz, Pinchas Cohen, Julie B. Sneddon, Laura Perin, and Valter D. Longo

Abstract

Stem-cell-based therapies can potentially reverse organ dysfunction and diseases, but the removal of impaired tissue and activation of a program leading to organ regeneration pose major challenges. In mice, a 4-day fasting mimicking diet (FMD) induces a stepwise expression of Sox17 and Pdx-1, followed by Ngn3-driven generation of insulin-producing b cells, resembling that observed during pancreatic development. FMD cycles restore insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis in both type 2 and type 1 diabetes mouse models. In human type 1 diabetes pancreatic islets, fasting conditions reduce PKA and mTOR activity and induce Sox2 and Ngn3 expression and insulin production. The effects of the FMD are reversed by IGF-1 treatment and recapitulated by PKA and mTOR inhibition. These results indicate that a FMD promotes the reprogramming of pancreatic cells to restore insulin generation in islets from T1D patients and reverse both T1D and T2D phenotypes in mouse models.

Date
February 23, 2017
View study

Share This

Related Topics

FastingDiabetes

Dr. Perlmutter is one of the leading lights in medicine today, illuminating the path for solving chronic illness

Mark Hyman, MD