Writing an article of foods high in vitamin K today I stumbled upon some interesting facts about proteins vitamin K regulates:
The bone Gla-protein osteocalcin, the calcification inhibiting matrix gla protein (MGP), the cell growth regulating growth arrest specific gene 6 protein (Gas6), and the four transmembrane Gla proteins (TMGPs) the function of which is at present unknown. Gas6 can function as a growth factor that activates the Axl receptor tyrosine kinase and stimulates cell proliferation or prevents apoptosis in some cells.
The key line in that paragraph that struck me is the part about preventing apoptosis, which lead me to ask: Is aging caused primarily by the failure of the body to kill old cells? A failure to properly activate apoptosis?
According to this other excerpt in wikipedia, it is in fact the increase and resultant apoptosis gone wild that might contribute to aging:
Apoptosis is responsible for killing infected cells, cancerous cells and cells that are simply in the wrong place during development. There are clear benefits to apoptosis, so the existence of apoptosis isn't a problem for evolutionary theory. The problem is that apoptosis seems to ramp up late in life and kill healthy cells, causing weakness and degeneration.
If this is the case, then it would appear to me to suggest that vitamin K, the apoptosis suppressor, is probably a healthy thing to eat to prevent aging. Not to mention the fact that it is found in all those dark leafy greens, long known for their health benefits.
Interestingly, there is another excerpt on the vitamin's antioxidant abilities to help protect against death of nerve cells:
Research into the antioxidant properties of vitamin K indicates that the concentration of vitamin K is lower in the circulation of carriers of the APOE4 gene and recent studies have shown its ability to inhibit cell death due to oxidation in nerve cells. It has been hypothesized that vitamin K may exude an effect on neuronal damage and that supplementation may hold benefits to treating this disease, although more research is necessary in this area.
And cancer too? YES! Of course cancer too.
At the same time researchers in Japan were studying the role of vitamin K2 in the prevention of bone loss in females with liver disease, they discovered another possible effect of this phytonutrient. This two year study which involved 21 women with viral liver cirrhosis found that women in the supplement group were 90 percent less likely to develop liver cancer. A German study performed on men with prostate cancer found a significant inverse relationship between vitamin K2 consumption and advanced prostate cancer.
Thus vitamin K is involved in blood coagulation, preventing cell death (apoptosis), and preventing cell proliferation (cancer), making it the official cell regulator*.
*Is not actually official.
For more on vitamin K and osteoporosis, check on this post on the HealthAliciousNess blog.
