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Commentary
Cellscience Reviews Vol 4 No 4
ISSN 1742-8130 |
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Can Sir(2) regulate cancer?
Pratibha V. Nerurkar 1 & Vivek R. Nerurkar 2
1 Laboratory of Metabolic Disorders and Alternative Medicine, Dept. of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE), CTAHR &
2 Retrovirology Research Laboratory, Dept. of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology & Pharmacology,
John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA.
Received 21st April © Cellscience 2008
Sirtuin activators, including small molecules such as polyphenols and resveratrol, are much desired due to their potential to ameliorate metabolic disorder and delay or prevent aging. In contrast, recent studies demonstrate that targeted silencing of sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) expression or activity by the deleted in breast cancer 1 (DBC1) may be beneficial by promoting p53-induced apoptosis in cancer cells, and by sensitizing cancerous cells to radiation therapy. Negative SIRT1 regulation also alleviates gene-repression associated with fragile X mental retardation syndrome. The targeted activation or inhibition of SIRT1 activity therefore emerges as a critical point of regulation in disease pathogenesis.
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