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NEUROSCIENCE

Ketones to the rescue of the starving fly

Nature Metabolism volume 4, pages 159–160 (2022)Cite this article

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Although glucose classically serves as the main neuronal fuel source in the brain, Silva et al. demonstrate that ketones produced by local glial cells are critical for memory formation in starving flies. Here we discuss the implications of these findings for aging, neurodegeneration and the genetics of ketone metabolism.

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Fig. 1: Starvation induces a metabolic shift, which is conserved in flies, to elevate ketone body production and improve memory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA, USA

    Kenneth A. Wilson, Sudipta Bar & Pankaj Kapahi

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  1. Kenneth A. Wilson
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  2. Sudipta Bar
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  3. Pankaj Kapahi
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Correspondence to Pankaj Kapahi.

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P.K. is founder and a member of the scientific advisory board at Juvify Bio. All other authors declare no competing interests.

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Wilson, K.A., Bar, S. & Kapahi, P. Ketones to the rescue of the starving fly. Nat Metab 4, 159–160 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-022-00527-7

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