β-hydroxybutyrate: Much More Than a Metabolite

Overview

Journal Diabetes Res Clin Pract

Specialty Endocrinology

Date 2014 Sep 7

PMID 25193333

Citations 136

Authors

John C Newman

Eric Verdin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate (βOHB) is a convenient carrier of energy from adipocytes to peripheral tissues during fasting or exercise. However, βOHB is more than just a metabolite, having important cellular signaling roles as well. βOHB is an endogenous inhibitor of histone deacetylases (HDACs) and a ligand for at least two cell surface receptors. In addition, the downstream products of βOHB metabolism including acetyl-CoA, succinyl-CoA, and NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) themselves have signaling activities. These regulatory functions of βOHB serve to link the outside environment to cellular function and gene expression, and have important implications for the pathogenesis and treatment of metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes.

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