The emerging therapeutic potential of sirtuin-interacting drugs: from cell death to lifespan extension.
Acetylation of chromatin-interacting proteins is central to the epigenetic regulation of genome architecture and gene expression. Chemicals that modulate the acetylation of nuclear proteins have proved instrumental in experimental models of several human diseases. Sirtuins represent a new class of evolutionary conserved histone deacetylases, originally identified in yeast, that have emerging pathogenetic roles in cancer, diabetes, muscle differentiation, heart failure, neurodegeneration and aging. In this article, we focus on sirtuins and provide an appraisal of current compounds that either activate or inhibit sirtuin activity, highlighting their therapeutic potential for the treatment of human diseases.
Porcu
Marco
M
Department of Preclinical and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy.
Chiarugi
Alberto
A
D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008136:Longevity / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D037761:Sirtuins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000502:physiology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D037761:Sirtuins