Klotho, a Gene for Longevity

The Klotho gene is one of the two master switches that promote the calorie restriction or longevity pathway. Klotho was found to extend the lifespan when overexpressed, while it accelerates aging when its expression is disrupted.

The expression of the Klotho gene was evaluated following an experiment with dermal skin cells. It was found that in aging skin cells the expression of Klotho declines by almost 60%. When the cells were treated with Snow Algae extract, the expression of Klotho was shown to be even stronger than in young skin cells (+47%) and therefore seen to promote anti-aging processes in the cells.