Fasting protects mice from lethal DNA damage by promoting small intestinal epithelial stem cell survival

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy experience high rates of dose-limiting morbidity. Recently, short-term fasting prior to chemotherapy was shown to decrease toxicity. In the following paper, the researchers report that fasting protects multiple small intestinal stem cell populations marked by Lgr5, Bmi1, or HopX expression and maintains barrier function to preserve small intestinal architecture from lethal DNA damage. Their findings provide insight into how fasting protects the host from toxicity associated with high-dose chemotherapy.

Read the whole paper here: Fasting protects mice from lethal DNA damage by promoting small intestinal epithelial stem cell survival.