Ido Goldstein

Ido Goldstein
Ido Goldstein
When the liver ‘remembers’ past fasting: Repeated fasting events sensitize enhancers, transcription factor activity and gene expression to support augmented ketogenesis
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Congratulation to Ido Goldstein, Assistant Professor and Zuckerman Faculty Scholar at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, on the publication of his most significant research to date,  in the Oxford University Press’s Nucleic Acids Research Open Access Journal.

Prof. Goldstein’s research team found that the liver ‘remembers’ fasting events, and  a positive effect on future responses to fasting.

Abstract:  Mammals withstand frequent and prolonged fasting periods due to hepatic production of glucose and ketone bodies. Because the fasting response is transcriptionally regulated, the research team asked whether enhancer dynamics impose a transcriptional program during recurrent fasting and whether this generates effects distinct from a single fasting bout. The team found that mice undergoing alternate-day fasting (ADF) respond profoundly differently to a following fasting bout compared to mice first experiencing fasting.  Past fasting events are ‘remembered’ in hepatocytes, sensitizing their enhancers to the next fasting bout and augment ketogenesis. These findings shed light on transcriptional regulation mediating adaptation to repeated signals.