What is "sirtuin"

n. (context biochemistry English) Any of several enzymes that act as regulatory factors that mediate the life-extending effects of a low-calorie diet.

Sirtuin or Sir2 proteins are a class of proteins that possess either mono- ADP-ribosyltransferase, or deacylase activity, including deacetylase, desuccinylase, demalonylase, demyristoylase and depalmitoylase activity. Sirtuins regulate important biological pathways in bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. The name Sir2 comes from the yeast gene 'silent mating-type information regulation 2', the gene responsible for cellular regulation in yeast.

Sirtuins have been implicated in influencing a wide range of cellular processes like aging, transcription, apoptosis, inflammation and stress resistance, as well as energy efficiency and alertness during low-calorie situations. Sirtuins can also control circadian clocks and mitochondrial biogenesis.

Yeast Sir2 and some, but not all, sirtuins are protein deacetylases. Unlike other known protein deacetylases, which simply hydrolyze acetyl- lysine residues, the sirtuin-mediated deacetylation reaction couples lysine deacetylation to NAD hydrolysis. This hydrolysis yields O-acetyl-ADP- ribose, the deacetylated substrate and nicotinamide, itself an inhibitor of sirtuin activity. The dependence of sirtuins on NAD links their enzymatic activity directly to the energy status of the cell via the cellular NAD:NADH ratio, the absolute levels of NAD, NADH or nicotinamide or a combination of these variables.