Dietary interventions as regulators of stem cell behavior in homeostasis and disease.

Publication Type Review
Authors Novak J, Baksh S, Fuchs E
Journal Genes Dev
Volume 35
Issue 3-4
Pagination 199-211
Date Published 02/01/2021
ISSN 1549-5477
Keywords Diet, Stem Cells
Abstract Stem cells maintain tissues by balancing self-renewal with differentiation. A stem cell's local microenvironment, or niche, informs stem cell behavior and receives inputs at multiple levels. Increasingly, it is becoming clear that the overall metabolic status of an organism or metabolites themselves can function as integral members of the niche to alter stem cell fate. Macroscopic dietary interventions such as caloric restriction, the ketogenic diet, and a high-fat diet systemically alter an organism's metabolic state in different ways. Intriguingly, however, they all converge on a propensity to enhance self-renewal. Here, we highlight our current knowledge on how dietary changes feed into stem cell behavior across a wide variety of tissues and illuminate possible explanations for why diverse interventions can result in similar stem cell phenotypes. In so doing, we hope to inspire new avenues of inquiry into the importance of metabolism in stem cell homeostasis and disease.
DOI 10.1101/gad.346973.120
PubMed ID 33526586
PubMed Central ID PMC7849367
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