The sirtuin family’s role in aging and age-associated pathologies

Hall, Jessica A.
Dominy, John E.
Lee, Yoonjin
Puigserver, Pere

Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Address correspondence to: Pere Puigserver, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Ave., CLSB-11144, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA. Phone: 617.582.7977; Fax: 617.632.5363; E-mail: [email protected].

Authorship note: Jessica A. Hall, John E. Dominy, and Yoonjin Lee contributed equally to this work.

Journal of Clinical Investigation 123(3):p 973-979, March 1, 2013. | DOI: 10.1172/JCI64094

The 7 mammalian sirtuin proteins compose a protective cavalry of enzymes that can be invoked by cells to aid in the defense against a vast array of stressors. The pathologies associated with aging, such as metabolic syndrome, neurodegeneration, and cancer, are either caused by or exacerbated by a lifetime of chronic stress. As such, the activation of sirtuin proteins could provide a therapeutic approach to buffer against chronic stress and ameliorate age-related decline. Here we review experimental evidence both for and against this proposal, as well as the implications that isoform-specific sirtuin activation may have for healthy aging in humans.