Klotho Neurosciences Says Gene Therapy Boosted Lifespan by 20% in Mice, Eyes Anti-Aging Breakthrough

Klotho Neurosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLTO), a U.S.-based biogenetics company announced the findings of pre-clinical studies indicating the potential of elevating Klotho gene expression to simultaneously reduce the age-associated degeneration in multiple organs, increasing both life and health span.

 

Pioneering discoveries by Professor Makoto Kuro-O in 1997 showed that Klotho concentrations in the blood were directly associated with lifespan of mammals – the lower the Klotho blood levels the shorter the lifespan. Kuro-O's laboratory then published the first evidence that genetic over expression of the full-length form of Klotho in mice, increased in lifespan of mice of up to 30%-40% longer compared to the normal mouse lifespan. Since then, the Klotho protein has gained much attention because of its ability to influence key biological pathways involved in metabolism, inflammation and tissue repair, which are closely linked to the aging process.

A series of experiments led by Joan Roig-Soriano and colleagues, published in the February 2025 edition of Molecular Therapy, highlights the promising role of the naturally occurring secreted form of the Klotho protein ("s-KL") and its effects on healthy aging mice and mice with a rapidly aging phenotype. Key observations were that, while aging is a major risk factor for many pathologies, including cognitive decline, neuroinflammation, sarcopenia, and osteoporosis, the secreted protein s-KL has emerged as a potentially promising therapeutic anti-aging molecule due to its many biological effects involving multiple pathways related to cell injury, stress, and inflammation. The s-KL was administered using an adeno-associated virus serotype 9 delivery vector (AAV9) that expressed the secreted KL protein isoform and efficiently increased the concentration of s-KL in serum, resulting in a 20% increase in lifespan.