Scientists Discover the Fountain of Youth

The aging process is closely wrapped up with genetics. New discoveries are being made on almost the daily basis in this important area of research.

In this case, Dr. Carmela Abraham has studied a gene involved in the regulation of aging called Klotho. It is related to longer life spans in human and rodent studies. Abraham specifically studies old brains compared to young brains. She is a biochemistry professor at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM).

Young brains tend to have much more Klotho than do old brains, so the question rose, why? It turns out that insulin plays a role in regulating the levels of Klotho that are secreted by the brain. The secretion was proven by the fact that Klotho was found in serum and cerebrospinal fluids. Some factor must be snipping Klotho away from the walls of the cells . The culprit is insulin.

The higher the level of insulin, the higher the level of secreted Klotho. Insulin is related to diabetes. It is also implicated in oxidative stress, and in shortened life span in humans. While all the details are not worked out, scientists believe that Klotho helps to regulate and mitigate the negative effects of too much insulin. Adults who develop diabetes might be helped by the regulation of Klotho levels, and life spans might be lengthened as a result.

A Japanese research group discovered the Klotho gene in 1997, and named it for a Japanese goddess. She spins life in a similar way that the fates do in Western mythology. Mice that are denied Klotho show many of the typical signs of human aging, like hair loss, infertility, mental declines, and coronary and artery disease. Especially important, they have a much shortened life span. In contrast, mice with higher levels of the gene live as much as a third longer and are able to handle oxidative stress much more effectively.

It is known that a reduction in calory consumption is related to life span extension in rodents, and some scientists believe that such a reduction in humans could substantially extend life spans. Unfortunately, the diet of most Americans is relatively high in calories, a factor that would tend to shorten lives. The recent studies tend to support this research, indicating that the disruptions in insulin caused by heavy eating and too much sugar in the diet would have an effect on Klotho levels.

Other scientists engaged in the study are Dr. Ci-Di Chen, Sonia Podvin, Earl Gillespie and Dr. Susan Leeman.

Klotho Gene, Boston U