EPIGENETIC, TRANSCRIPTOMIC AND CYTOGENETIC MECHANISM OF INTERMITTENT FASTING

Abstract

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a lifestyle intervention comprising a dietary regimen in which energy intake is restricted via alternating periods of fasting and ad libitum food consumption, without compromising nutritional composition. Mice were subjected to different variances of IF and refeeding regimens, and subsequent epigenomic, transcriptomic and cytogenetic studies were performed in various organs setting. We have established from our findings that IF induces differential effects on the epigenome, transcriptome as well as cytogenome in a spatial and temporal dependent manner. Specifically, our findings provided us with a detailed framework of how the myriad of IF associated effects are being regulated, thereby providing us with the impetus for the selection of a suitable variant of IF regimen to produce expected desirable effects. Potentially, a clearer understanding into the molecular mechanism of IF may cause a paradigm shift in employing IF as a universally accessible yet drug-free preventive lifestyle management to yield a myriad of IF-induced beneficial effects as well as its protective mechanisms against the development and manifestation of numerous age-associated diseases.