Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6 or Sirt6) is a stress responsive protein deacetylase and mono-ADP ribosyltransferase enzyme encoded by the SIRT6 gene. [5] [6] [7] In laboratory research, SIRT6 appears to function in multiple molecular pathways related to aging, including DNA repair, telomere maintenance, glycolysis and inflammation. [5] SIRT6 is member of the mammalian sirtuin family of proteins, which are homologs to the yeast Sir2 protein.
Sirt6 is mainly known as a deacetylase of histones H3 and H4, an activity by which it changes chromatin density and regulates gene expression. The enzymatic activity of Sirt6, as well as of the other members of the sirtuins family, is dependent upon the binding of the cofactor nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). [8]
Mice which have been genetically engineered to overexpress Sirt6 protein exhibit an extended maximum lifespan. This lifespan extension, of about 15–16 percent, is observed only in male mice. [9]
SIRT6 is a chromatin-associated protein that is required for normal base excision repair and double-strand break repair of DNA damage in mammalian cells. [10] [11] Deficiency of SIRT6 in mice leads to abnormalities that overlap with aging-associated degenerative processes. [10] A study of 18 species of rodents showed that the longevity of the species was correlated with the efficiency of the SIRT6 enzyme. [11]
SIRT6 promotes the repair of DNA double-strand breaks by the process of non-homologous end joining and homologous recombination. [12] SIRT6 stabilizes the repair protein DNA-PKcs (DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit) at chromatin sites of damage. [13]
As normal human fibroblasts replicate and progress towards replicative senescence the capability to undergo homologous recombinational repair (HRR) declines. [14] However, over-expression of SIRT6 in “middle-aged” and pre-senescent cells strongly stimulates HRR. [14] This effect depends on the mono-ADP ribosylation activity of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP1). SIRT6 also rescues the decline in base excision repair of aged human fibroblasts in a PARP1 dependent manner. [15]
Sirt6 deacetylation activity can be stimulated by high concentrations (several hundred micromolar) of fatty acids, [16] and more potently by a first series of synthetic activators based on a pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxaline scaffold. [17] Crystal structures of Sirt6/activator complexes show that the compounds exploit a SIRT6 specific pocket in the enzyme's substrate acyl binding channel. [17] Among many anthocyanidins studied, cyanidin most potently stimulated activity of the SIRT6. [12]
DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA damage, resulting in tens of thousands of individual molecular lesions per cell per day. Many of these lesions cause structural damage to the DNA molecule and can alter or eliminate the cell's ability to transcribe the gene that the affected DNA encodes. Other lesions induce potentially harmful mutations in the cell's genome, which affect the survival of its daughter cells after it undergoes mitosis. As a consequence, the DNA repair process is constantly active as it responds to damage in the DNA structure. When normal repair processes fail, and when cellular apoptosis does not occur, irreparable DNA damage may occur, including double-strand breaks and DNA crosslinkages. This can eventually lead to malignant tumors, or cancer as per the two hit hypothesis.
Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a family of proteins involved in a number of cellular processes such as DNA repair, genomic stability, and programmed cell death.
Sirtuins are a family of signaling proteins involved in metabolic regulation. They are ancient in animal evolution and appear to possess a highly conserved structure throughout all kingdoms of life. Chemically, sirtuins are a class of proteins that possess either mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase or deacylase activity, including deacetylase, desuccinylase, demalonylase, demyristoylase and depalmitoylase activity. The name Sir2 comes from the yeast gene 'silent mating-type information regulation 2', the gene responsible for cellular regulation in yeast.
c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs), were originally identified as kinases that bind and phosphorylate c-Jun on Ser-63 and Ser-73 within its transcriptional activation domain. They belong to the mitogen-activated protein kinase family, and are responsive to stress stimuli, such as cytokines, ultraviolet irradiation, heat shock, and osmotic shock. They also play a role in T cell differentiation and the cellular apoptosis pathway. Activation occurs through a dual phosphorylation of threonine (Thr) and tyrosine (Tyr) residues within a Thr-Pro-Tyr motif located in kinase subdomain VIII. Activation is carried out by two MAP kinase kinases, MKK4 and MKK7, and JNK can be inactivated by Ser/Thr and Tyr protein phosphatases. It has been suggested that this signaling pathway contributes to inflammatory responses in mammals and insects.
DNA repair protein XRCC1, also known as X-ray repair cross-complementing protein 1, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the XRCC1 gene. XRCC1 is involved in DNA repair, where it complexes with DNA ligase III.
Chromatin remodeling is the dynamic modification of chromatin architecture to allow access of condensed genomic DNA to the regulatory transcription machinery proteins, and thereby control gene expression. Such remodeling is principally carried out by 1) covalent histone modifications by specific enzymes, e.g., histone acetyltransferases (HATs), deacetylases, methyltransferases, and kinases, and 2) ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes which either move, eject or restructure nucleosomes. Besides actively regulating gene expression, dynamic remodeling of chromatin imparts an epigenetic regulatory role in several key biological processes, egg cells DNA replication and repair; apoptosis; chromosome segregation as well as development and pluripotency. Aberrations in chromatin remodeling proteins are found to be associated with human diseases, including cancer. Targeting chromatin remodeling pathways is currently evolving as a major therapeutic strategy in the treatment of several cancers.
ADP-ribosylation is the addition of one or more ADP-ribose moieties to a protein. It is a reversible post-translational modification that is involved in many cellular processes, including cell signaling, DNA repair, gene regulation and apoptosis. Improper ADP-ribosylation has been implicated in some forms of cancer. It is also the basis for the toxicity of bacterial compounds such as cholera toxin, diphtheria toxin, and others.
Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP-1) also known as NAD+ ADP-ribosyltransferase 1 or poly[ADP-ribose] synthase 1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the PARP1 gene. It is the most abundant of the PARP family of enzymes, accounting for 90% of the NAD+ used by the family.
DNA damage-binding protein 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the DDB2 gene.
Sirtuin 1, also known as NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin-1, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SIRT1 gene.
NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin 2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the SIRT2 gene. SIRT2 is an NAD+ -dependent deacetylase. Studies of this protein have often been divergent, highlighting the dependence of pleiotropic effects of SIRT2 on cellular context. The natural polyphenol resveratrol is known to exert opposite actions on neural cells according to their normal or cancerous status. Similar to other sirtuin family members, SIRT2 displays a ubiquitous distribution. SIRT2 is expressed in a wide range of tissues and organs and has been detected particularly in metabolically relevant tissues, including the brain, muscle, liver, testes, pancreas, kidney, and adipose tissue of mice. Of note, SIRT2 expression is much higher in the brain than all other organs studied, particularly in the cortex, striatum, hippocampus, and spinal cord.
NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin-3, mitochondrial also known as SIRT3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SIRT3 gene [sirtuin 3 ]. SIRT3 is member of the mammalian sirtuin family of proteins, which are homologs to the yeast Sir2 protein. SIRT3 exhibits NAD+-dependent deacetylase activity.
E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase RNF8 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the RNF8 gene. RNF8 has activity both in immune system functions and in DNA repair.
Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the PARP2 gene. It is one of the PARP family of enzymes.
Sirtuin 5 , also known as SIRT5 is a protein which in humans in encoded by the SIRT5 gene and in other species by the orthologous Sirt5 gene.
Chromodomain-helicase-DNA-binding protein 1-like (ALC1) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CHD1L gene. It has been implicated in chromatin remodeling and DNA relaxation process required for DNA replication, repair and transcription. The ALC1 comprises ATPase domain and macro domain. On the basis of homology within the ATPase domain, ALC1 belongs to Snf2 family.
NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin 7 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the SIRT7 gene. SIRT7 is member of the mammalian sirtuin family of proteins, which are homologs to the yeast Sir2 protein.
The DNA damage theory of aging proposes that aging is a consequence of unrepaired accumulation of naturally occurring DNA damage. Damage in this context is a DNA alteration that has an abnormal structure. Although both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA damage can contribute to aging, nuclear DNA is the main subject of this analysis. Nuclear DNA damage can contribute to aging either indirectly or directly.
Sirtuin 4, also known as SIRT4, is a mitochondrial protein which in humans is encoded by the SIRT4 gene. SIRT4 is member of the mammalian sirtuin family of proteins, which are homologs to the yeast Sir2 protein. SIRT4 exhibits NAD+-dependent deacetylase activity.
DNA damage is distinctly different from mutation, although both are types of error in DNA. DNA damage is an abnormal chemical structure in DNA, while a mutation is a change in the sequence of base pairs. DNA damages cause changes in the structure of the genetic material and prevents the replication mechanism from functioning and performing properly.
