Klotho: a master regulator of cardiovascular disease?

Finding the mechanism that will make us live a long and healthy life is the goal of medical research. How appropriate that Klotho, the Greek goddess of life, is involved in vascular disease. Klotho is one of the Greek Moirai, the goddesses of fate who controlled the ultimate destiny of man: death. Klotho spins the thread of life, Lakhesis measured the thread of life, and Atropos cut the thread of life. For this reason, the gene that seemed to control aging was named Klotho when first discovered by Kuro-o et al in 1997.1 This klotho knockout aging mouse suffered from early demise, infertility, arteriosclerosis and arterial calcification, osteoporosis, hyperphosphatemia, emphysema, and skin atrophy. This landmark discovery has not (yet) extended our life span, but it has opened up an amazing understanding of the role of Klotho and mineral homeostasis in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease.