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  • Got KLOTHO? You’ll Think Smarter Not Got KLOTHO? Get Some Vitamin D & Resveratrol

    January 29, 2015: by Bill Sardi

    About 1 in 5 people are walking around with a gene variant that confers them with extra brain power in the area of decision making, planning, working memory and problem solving. That is the remarkable discovery being reported today and there may be a way for others who don’t carry this variant gene to get the same superior brain power effect by supplementing their diet with vitamin D and the red wine molecule resveratrol.

    The study, being reported in the January 27, 2015 issue of Annals of Clinical & Translational Neurology, started by testing laboratory mice but quickly advanced to human measurement of brain volume and mental performance. [Annals Clinical & Translational Neurology Jan 26, 2015]

    The gene involved is the KLOTHO gene, named after the Greek goddess KLOTHO who spun the thread of life. [Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation 2007] KLOTHO gene protein is produced in the brain and kidneys.

    Laboratory mice with the variant KLOTHO gene lived longer and were smarter. It was a surprise to discover some humans have this same variant KLOTHO gene.

    Normally humans carry two copies of the KLOTHO gene. People who only have one copy of KLOTHO and have the variant version exhibited larger brain grey matter (in the prefrontal cortex of the brain to be specific).

    Adults aged 53-89 years of age were tested and all exhibited a decline in brain volume but the decline was slower and less pronounced among individuals with the variant KLOTHO gene.

    What about the other 80 percent of humanity that doesn’t carry the KLOTHO gene variant that confers “smartness?”

    The variant KLOTHO gene (Klotho-VS) increases secretion of KLOTHO gene protein. [Cell Reports May 22, 2014; Proceedings National Academy Science May 22, 2002] This same variant KLOTHO gene is associated with longer lifespan and healthspan. [Rejuvenation Research April 2014]

    A decline in KLOTHO gene protein is also associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease. [Neuroscience Letters Jan 13, 2014] The KLOTHO gene is also linked with larger white matter as well as grey matter of the brain. [Glia Jan 1, 2008]

    While those who inherit this variant version of the KLOTHO gene have a mental advantage, so might those who activate the KLOTHO gene with certain molecules involving epigenetic mechanisms.   For example, it was recently reported that the red wine molecule resveratrol (rez-vair-ah-trol) activates KLOTHO gene protein secretion. [International Journal Biochemistry Cell Biology Aug 2014; Neurobiology Aging Dec 18, 2014]

    Pharmacologists are racing to develop drugs to activate KLOTHO. Synthetic molecules that activate KLOTHO have been identified. [Biochemistry Journal Jan 1, 2012]

    What is intriguing is that KLOTHO gene protein is increased when living organisms are exposed to biological stress such as low-dose radiation or other stressors that increase oxidation. [Aging Sept 2010; Radiation Research June 2013]

    Sunlight is a form of radiation that stresses the human body. Sunlight is also the precursor for vitamin D, a hormone/vitamin.   Vitamin D can induce activation of the KLOTHO gene. [Advances Experimental Medicine Biology 2012; Clinical Journal American Society Nephrology Sept 2010]

    Vitamin D is considered the mediator of premature aging seen in mice that are genetically bred without the KLOTHO gene. [Kidney International June 2009]   Though overly excessive vitamin D blood levels (which can only be reproduced in the laboratory and not by sunlight or vitamin D supplements) can also accelerate the aging process. [Trends Molecular Medicine July 2006]

    One of the reasons why resveratrol works synergistically with vitamin D is that it sensitizes the vitamin D receptor 0n the surface of cells. Vitamin D is more active when accompanied by resveratrol. [Journal Cellular Biochemistry Dec 23, 2014; Journal Steroid Biochemistry Molecular Biology Feb 2003]

    Get smart. Don’t wait for modern pharmacology to develop expensive synthetic drugs to activate KLOTHO. Fortify your diet as you age. Get resveratrol and vitamin D. © 2015 Bill Sardi, ResveratrolNews.com

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