A research group led by Kaori Nakanishi, assistant professor and Keiko Takihara, professor of the Health Care Centre, Osaka University in Japan found that smoking habits affected the ageing-related molecule alpha-klotho in blood serum.

In addition, this group also elucidated that smoking causes a rise in blood serum concentration of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-21, a factor related to metabolism which has gained attention in recent years.

These research results could serve as a key to clarifying the mechanism which accelerates this ageing, and provide new knowledge about ageing-related diseases caused by smoking and prevention of smoking-related accelerated ageing, researchers said.

The group focused on the relationship between smoking and ageing, examining the involvement of Klotho in the advancement of ageing due to smoking.

It was found that the levels of FGF-21 related to metabolism, alpha-Klotho, and interleukin(IL)-6, a cytokine related to inflammation, were significantly higher in smokers than in never-smokers.

In addition, the blood serum concentration of alpha-Klotho rose in stressful conditions such as lack and sleep and being under emotional stress outside of smoking.

FGF-21 is negatively-correlated to adiponectin, which is known as a cytokine related to metabolism, and the rise in FGF-21 in smokers is thought to suggest a metabolic disorder. By contrast, it was shown that in never-smokers, alpha-Klotho has a positive correlation with IL-6, but this correlation was not found in smokers.

Past reports have stated that alpha-Klotho holds anti-inflammatory effects, so it may be that the lack of this correlation between alpha-Klotho and IL-6 in smokers is possible due to the weakening of anti-inflammatory effects of alpha-Klotho brought about by smoking stress.

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