BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is the most severe acute metabolic complication of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Insulin treatment is commonly guided by plasma glucose levels and changes in venous blood gases, while β-hydroxibutyrate (BHB) levels are rarely measured. The study objective was to evaluate the value of capillary BHB monitoring in the course and resolution of DKA. ...

Poly-f-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) has been demonstrated in a wide range of bacteria, including both chemolithotrophic and photolithotrophic organisms. In the chemolithotrophic group, Schlegel, Gottschalk, and von Bartha (8) reported the formation and utilization of PHB in Hydrogenomonas, Lundgren et al. (4) extracted PHB from Ferrobacillusferrooxidans, and Tobback and Laudelout (10) chemically i...

Two synthetic photoactive azidoarylphosphatidylcholines were used to investigate the level of interaction between D-beta-hydroxybutyrate apodehydrogenase (apoBDH), an amphipathic membrane protein, with the hydrophobic domain of phospholipids. The two synthetic lecithins, PL I (1-myristoyl-2-12-N-(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl) aminododecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) and PL II (1-myristoyl-2-(2-azi...

The ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) is a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor and has been shown to be protective in many disease models, but its effects on aging are not well studied. Therefore we determined the effect of βHB supplementation on the lifespan ofC. elegans nematodes. βHB supplementation extended mean lifespan by approximately 20%. RNAi knockdown of HDACs hda-2 or hda-3 als...

Glucose is the brain's principal energy substrate. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), there appears to be a pathological decrease in the brain's ability to use glucose. Neurobiological evidence suggests that ketone bodies are an effective alternative energy substrate for the brain. Elevation of plasma ketone body levels through an oral dose of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) may improve cognitive f...

It was established by Shaw and Knodt (I) that the normal lactating udder (in situ) of the cow utilizes almost 2 mg. of phydroxybutyric acid per 100 ml. of blood traversing the udder; it was calculated that this was sufficient to account for the short chain fatty acids of milk fat or for about 40 per cent of the oxygen consumption of the secreting gland if it were oxidized for energy purposes. L...

BACKGROUND Poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) mobilization in bacteria has been proposed as a mechanism that can benefit their host for survival under stress conditions. Here we reported for the first time that a stress-induced system enabled E. coli, a non-PHB producer, to mobilize PHB in vivo by mimicking natural PHB accumulation bacteria. RESULTS The successful expression of PHB biosynthesis ...

Azotobacter synthesizes an extensive internal membranous nework when grown with air (N(2)), i.e., under conditions when these bacteria fix nitrogen. Very slight quantities of internal membrane, concentrated mainly about the cell periphery, are formed when Azotobacter grows with fixed nitrogen, i.e., ammonia and amino acids. Compared to cells growing with ammonia, cells utilizing atmospheric nit...