• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.283-289
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• 2019

Brain aging induces neuropsychological changes, such as decreased memory capacity, language ability, and attention; and is also associated with neurodegenerative diseases. However, most of the studies on brain aging are focused on neurons, while senescence in astrocytes has received less attention. Astrocytes constitute the majority of cell types in the brain and perform various functions in the brain such as supporting brain structures, regulating blood-brain barrier permeability, transmitter uptake and regulation, and immunity modulation. Recent studies have shown that SIRT1 and SIRT2 play certain roles in cellular senescence in peripheral systems. Both SIRT1 and SIRT2 inhibitors delay tumor growth in vivo without significant general toxicity. In this study, we investigated the role of tenovin-1, an inhibitor of SIRT1 and SIRT2, on rat primary astrocytes where we observed senescence and other functional changes. Cellular senescence usually is characterized by irreversible cell cycle arrest and induces senescence- associated ${\beta}$-galactosidase (SA-${\beta}$-gal) activity. Tenovin-1-treated astrocytes showed increased SA-${\beta}$-gal-positive cell number, senescence-associated secretory phenotypes, including IL-6 and IL-$1{\beta}$, and cell cycle-related proteins like phospho-histone H3 and CDK2. Along with the molecular changes, tenovin-1 impaired the wound-healing activity of cultured primary astrocytes. These data suggest that tenovin-1 can induce cellular senescence in astrocytes possibly by inhibiting SIRT1 and SIRT2, which may play particular roles in brain aging and neurodegenerative conditions.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.96-105
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• 2020

Sirtuin inhibitors are pharmaceutically and therapeutically valuable compounds that inhibit sirtuin, a type III histone deacetylase. Synthetic sirtuin inhibitors were discovered and characterized using cell-based screens in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and have been used in the study of aging, carcinogenesis, and diabetes, all of which are related to sirtuin function. For medical applications, synthetic inhibitors have been further developed for increased potency and specificity, including compounds containing nicotinamide, thioacetyl lysine, β-naphthol, and indole derivatives. Suramin, tenovin, and their analogues were developed as a result. Sirtuin inhibitors were found to affect organic development and have been used to genetically modify plants, although a sirtinol-resistant mutation in the biosynthesis of a molybdopterin cofactor for an aldehyde oxidase has been identified. Some natural flavonoids, and catechin and quercetin derivatives also act as sirtuin inhibitors have been studied to identify a more potent inhibitor for therapeutic purposes. In this review, sirtuin is introduced and the therapeutic inhibitors that have been developed are presented, particularly sirtinol which has been used for genetic modification in plants though it was not designed to be so. Sirtuin inhibitors with greater potency and selectivity are required and those developed in pharmaceutics should be used in plant research to identify more authentic sirtuins in plants.