Researchers have dramatically increased the life spans of mice by genetically engineering them to overproduce a protein called klotho. Not surprisingly, the discovery has spurred speculation that klotho could help humans live longer. “We overexpressed the klotho gene to suppress aging, and we found that the average life span was 20 to 30 percent longer than in control animals,” said pathologist Makoto Kuro-O, of the University of Texas’ Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The gene regulates production of klotho protein, which the study team says works like an anti-aging hormone. Kotho is involved in the suppression of insulin-signaling pathways—a process that has been shown to increase the life spans of worms and flies. “We concluded that the klotho gene is an aging-suppression gene that can extend life span when overexpressed and accelerate aging when disrupted,” said Kuro-O, who was on the study team. Their findings will be published in tomorrow’s issue of the journal Science.
