Age-related changes in tissue-resident adult stem cells may be closely linked to tissue aging and age-related diseases, such as cancer. β-Hydroxybutyrate is emerging as an important molecule for exhibiting the anti-aging effects of caloric restriction and fasting, which are generally considered to be beneficial for stem cell maintenance and tissue regeneration. The effects of β-hydroxybutyrate on adult stem cells remain largely unknown. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate whether β-hydroxybutyrate supplementation exerts beneficial effects on age-related changes in intestinal stem cells that were derived from the Drosophila midgut. Our results indicate that β-hydroxybutyrate inhibits age- and oxidative stress-induced changes in midgut intestinal stem cells, including centrosome amplification (a hallmark of cancers), hyperproliferation, and DNA damage accumulation. Additionally, β-hydroxybutyrate inhibits age- and oxidative stress-induced heterochromatin instability in enterocytes, an intestinal stem cells niche cells. Our results suggest that β-hydroxybutyrate exerts both intrinsic as well as extrinsic influence in order to maintain stem cell homeostasis.

Spandidos Publications is a scientific publisher with a long-standing international reputation for excellent standards and high quality science publications

Angiogenesis is considered to be an integral process to the growth and spread of solid tumors. Anti-angiogenesis therapy recently has been found to be one of the most promising anti-cancer therapeutic strategies. In this study, we provide several lines of evidences showing that KR-31831, a new benzopyran derivative, has anti-angiogenic activities. KR-31831 inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion and tube formation of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs), and suppressed the release of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) of BAECs. KR-31831 also inhibited in vivo angiogenesis in mouse Matrigel plug assay. Furthermore, the mRNA expressions of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), fibroblast growth factor receptor-2 (FGFR-2), and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) were decreased by KR-31831. Taken together, these results suggest that KR-31831 acts as a novel angiogenesis inhibitor and might be useful for treating hypervascularized cancers.