Vitamin K2 can tackle neuroinflammation and degeneration, study finds

Published: 7-May-2024
Ingredients Cognitive

The study highlights how vitamin K2 supports healthy cognitive function through a reduction in gene expression associated with inflammation and degeneration in the brain

Andrea Fuso, PhD, a 15-year research collaborator with Gnosis by Lesaffre focusing on cognitive health, has expanded his area of study to include Vitamin K2 in neurological support, publishing a new study highlighting K2’s role in neurological protection. 

The study, published in Cells, identifies a link between supplemental K2 and neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation, pointing to K2’s potential role as a supplement for support of healthy brain and cognitive function.

 

Supporting neurological function with K2

In the new study1, Fuso, Associate Professor in Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, examined K2 as menaquinone-7 (in a reduced form) along with K2 menaquinone-4 on a model of neuroblastoma cells to determine how forms of K2 affect the expression of genes involved in neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation.

Vitamin K2 administration was found to support neurological function by creating a favourable balance of activity, reducing the expression of genes associated with neurodegeneration (PSEN1 and BACE1) and neuroinflammation (IL-1β and IL-6), while simultaneously upregulating genes that protect against amyloid formation (ADAM10 and ADAM17).

Additionally, the team also profiled the DNA methylation patterns of the genes and discovered a correlation between hypermethylation and the downregulation of PSEN1, IL-1β, and IL-6.

This new mechanistic study supports earlier work discussing K2’s roles in Alzheimer’s via gut dysbiosis.[2]

Summarising his research, Dr Fuso commented: “Our earlier studies highlighted the role of B vitamins and SAMe as dietary factors connecting nutrition with the epigenetic modulation of brain disease. Now, we introduce research on a new compound crucial for cognition: Vitamin K2.”

“Our 15-year collaboration with Dr Fuso and his team has resulted in a growing body of evidence demonstrating how ingredients of natural origin [e.g., SAMe and vitamin K2 (as MK-7)] significantly impact the function of the brain and cognitive activity.” Says Jean-François Jeanne, Substantiation and Applications Manager at Gnosis by Lesaffre.

 

Reference

1 Fuso et al. “Amyloidogenic and Neuroinflammatory Molecular Pathways Are Contrasted Using Menaquinone

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