Recombinant Klotho Treatment Improves Cognitive Function in Old Rhesus Macaques

Klotho is one of the few genuinely longevity-associated genes, in that greater than normal expression increases life span in mice, while lower than normal expression shortens life span in mice. In humans, greater levels of circulating soluble klotho correlate with greater longevity. Klotho is thought to operate in the kidneys, in some way that is protective against the mechanisms of age-related decline, but there is a great deal of evidence for greater circulating klotho to improve cognitive function. At the same time, it seems unclear as to whether klotho is actually doing anything in the brain; it may be that the benefit is derived from preventing loss of kidney function, as kidney function is quite important to brain health. Still, this is subject to further discovery, and far from being a settled answer. Various groups are working towards the use of the recombinant klotho protein as a therapy, or some form of gene therapy as a way to increase circulating levels in humans. This seems as likely to be initially developed as a treatment for cognitive impairment as for kidney conditions, given the evidence on the table. Certainly, that is the intent at UNITY Biotechnology, a company that licensed academic work from recent years on the effects of soluble klotho on cognitive function in mice. That same line of work now leads to today's study, in which soluble klotho is tested as a protein therapy in aged non-human primates. It appears to work as a way to improve cognitive...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs