Phosphate as an Agent of Accelerated Aging

Here find an interesting viewpoint on the role of phosphate in mammalian biochemistry, suggesting that it tilts the playing field in the direction of faster degenerative aging. This emerges from work on the longevity-associated gene klotho and its effects on kidney function and vascular function in aging. As is usually the case in such matters, there is no great debate over whether or not specific mechanisms and contributions to aging and age-related diseases exist. The question is whether or not the size of the effect is large enough to care about, and that is always much harder to answer, given the immense complexity of cellular biochemistry. During the evolution of skeletons, terrestrial vertebrates acquired strong bones made of calcium-phosphate. By keeping the extracellular fluid in a supersaturated condition regarding calcium and phosphate ions, they created the bone when and where they wanted simply by providing a cue for precipitation. To secure this strategy, they acquired a novel endocrine system to strictly control the extracellular phosphate concentration. In response to phosphate intake, fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) is secreted from the bone and acts on the kidney through binding to its receptor Klotho to increase urinary phosphate excretion, thereby maintaining phosphate homeostasis. The FGF23-Klotho endocrine system, when disrupted in mice, results in hyperphosphatemia and vascular calcification. Besides, mice lacking Klotho or FGF23 suff...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs