Poster Sessions

CB -5

In Hye Lee

I. H. Lee, L. Cao, R. Mostoslavsky, D. B. Lombard, J. Liu, N. E. Bruns, M. Tsokos, F. W. Alt, T. Finkel

SIRT1 regulates autophagy

We demonstrate an essential role for the NAD-dependent deacetylase Sirt1 in the regulation of autophagy. In particular, transient increased expression of Sirt1 is sufficient to stimulate basal rates of autophagy. In addition, we show that Sirt1 -/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts do not fully activate autophagy under starved conditions. Reconstitution with wild type but not a deacetylase inactive mutant of Sirt1 restores autophagy in these cells. We further demonstrate that Sirt1 can form a molecular complex with several essential components of the autophagy machinery including Atg5, Atg7 and Atg8. In vitro, Sirt1 can, in an NAD-dependent fashion, directly deacetylate these components. The absence of Sirt1 leads to markedly elevated acetylation of proteins known to be required for autophagy in both cultured cells as well as in embryonic and neonatal tissues. Finally we show that Sirt1-/- mice partially phenocopy Atg5-/- mice including the accumulation of damaged organelles, disruption of energy homeostasis and early peri-natal mortality. Furthermore, the in utero delivery of the metabolic substrate pyruvate significantly extends the survival of Sirt1-/- pups. These results suggest that the Sirt1 deacetylase is an important in vivo regulator of autophagy and provides a link between sirtuin function and the overall cellular response to limited nutrients.