αKlotho decreases after reduced weight-bearing from both spaceflight and hindlimb unloading

Jeffrey S Willey; Serena Aunon-Chancellor; Lauren A Miles; Joseph E Moore; Xiao W Mao; Robert W Wallace; Matthew C Foy

doi:10.1038/s41526-022-00203-w

αKlotho decreases after reduced weight-bearing from both spaceflight and hindlimb unloading

NPJ Microgravity. 2022 Jun 2;8(1):18. doi: 10.1038/s41526-022-00203-w.

Authors

Jeffrey S Willey¹, Serena Aunon-Chancellor², Lauren A Miles³, Joseph E Moore⁴, Xiao W Mao⁵, Robert W Wallace², Matthew C Foy⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Section of Radiation Biology, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. jwilley@wakehealth.edu.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
³ Department of Nephrology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
⁴ Department of Radiation Oncology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Section of Radiation Biology, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
⁵ Department of Basic Sciences, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Internal Medicine, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Division of Nephrology, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.

Abstract

Alpha(α)Klotho, a soluble transmembrane protein, facilitates calcium-phosphorus homeostasis through feedback between bone and kidney and is a potential systemic biomarker for bone-kidney health during spaceflight. We determined if: (1) plasma αKlotho was reduced after both spaceflight aboard the ISS and hindlimb unloading (HU); and (2) deficiency could be reversed with exercise. Both spaceflight and HU lowered circulating plasma αKlotho: plasma αKlotho recovered with exercise after HU.

Grants and funding

NNX15AB50G/NASA | Ames Research Center