Longevity Gene Increases Brain Size
Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco, working under the guidance of Dr. Dena Dubal, have found that people who are carriers of a certain variant of the KLOTHO gene associated with longevity have an enlarged region of the brain involved in planning and decision-making.
These data are consistent with the results of an earlier study by the authors, according to which middle-aged and elderly people who have one copy of the studied variant of the KLOTHO gene, known as KL-VS, show better results when performing a wide range of tests for cognitive functions. In experiments on genetically modified mice, it was found that the genetic variant of KL-VS enhances the relationship between neurons and increases the effectiveness of learning and memorization.
The KLOTHO gene (named after one of the three moira – Greek goddesses of fate, from which Klotho spins the thread of human life) encodes the klotho protein synthesized by the kidneys and brain and regulates various processes occurring in the body. Approximately every fifth person has 1 copy of the KL-VS allele. This increases the level of klotho protein in the body and is associated with an increase in life expectancy, as well as better functioning of the heart and kidneys. A small number of people – about 3% – have 2 copies of KL-VS, which is associated with a short lifespan.
As part of the latest study, scientists conducted brain tomography of 422 men and women aged 53 years older with normal cognitive functions and compared the data obtained with the absence or presence in the genomes of participants of one or two copies of the genetic variant KL-VS.
Analysis of the data showed that the KLOTHO gene determines the size of a region of the brain known as the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This region is particularly susceptible to age-related atrophy, which is most likely one of the reasons that older people have difficulty filtering out distracting information and performing several tasks at the same time.
The right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the brain, indicated in red in the figure,
in carriers of one copy of a certain variant of the KLOTHO gene (KL-VS) has an increased size,
associated with a better level of cognitive functions.
The researchers found that an age-related decrease in the size of the studied brain region occurred in all three groups of participants. At the same time, its largest size was typical for participants with one copy of KL-VS, who made up about a quarter of the entire cohort. It also turned out that the size of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex correlated with the results of tests on cognitive abilities, such as short-term memory and information processing speed.
The authors claim that the effect of the KL-VS genetic variant on the brain is not limited to an increase in the volume of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which, as statistical analysis has shown, is responsible for improving cognitive abilities by only 12%. The presence of this allele in the genome can have many other effects, including an increase in the level or a change in the nature of the action of the klotho protein, which increases the plasticity of synapses.
Article by Jennifer S. Yokoyama et al. Variation in longevity gene KLOTHO is associated with greater cortical volumes published in the journal Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of California, San Francisco:
Brain Region Vulnerable to Aging is Larger in Those with Longevity Gene Variant.
28.01.2015