Cold exposure reinstates NAD+ levels and attenuates hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abstract

Cold exposure has been historically used for medicinal purposes, but its benefits and associated mechanisms in mammalian organisms still remain unclear. Here, we explore the chemoprotective properties of cold temperature using a mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that recapitulates several human features. Chronic cold exposure is shown to prolong lifespan in diseased mice, enhance liver health, and suppress the development of aggressive HCC, preventing hepatocellular hypertrophy, high-grade oval cell hyperplasia, liver steatosis, and aberrant hepatocyte hyperproliferation. Mechanistically, exposure to cold temperatures reinstates NAD⁺ levels in the HCC mouse models that originally exhibited low NAD⁺ levels, a contributing process to the development of liver tumors. These findings uncover the role of cold therapy to attenuate HCC development and potentially other existing malignancies involving NAD⁺ modulation.