Gene deletion of Klotho in the dentate gyrus does not affect the number of adult-born granule cells

Overexpression and exogenous administration of the anti-ageing hormone Klotho has been shown to enhance and promote adult hippocampal neurogenesis. However, whether locally produced Klotho from dentate gyrus neurons contributes to this process has remained unclear. Here we show that conditional gene knockout of Klotho in granule cells of the mouse dentate gyrus results in a temporally restricted reduction of immature neurons (days 7–17 post-mitosis), but does not affect stem cell proliferation or long-term neuronal survival. Thus, the role of local Klotho expression is not essential for functional maturation and integration of adult-born neurons.