Ketone bodies as epigenetic modifiers

This review discusses recent observations suggesting that ketosis coordinates cellular function through epigenomic regulation. It notes that ketosis has been linked to histone modifications including lysine acetylation, methylation and hydroxybutyrylation. The authors state that it remains to be fully established whether these changes are attributable to ketone bodies themselves or to other aspects of ketotic states, and that further functional genomics, metabolomics and proteomics studies are needed in animals and humans.