Role of Sirtuins in Regulating Pathophysiology of the Heart

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are expanding at an alarming rate and people's propensity to develop them increases with age. Growing evidence indicates that sirtuins play a pivotal role in regulating a multitude of age-related diseases. Sirtuins are versatile molecules conserved from archaea to mammals. They are regulated by various metabolic and environmental stimuli. Seven sirtuin homologs (SIRT1–7) are present in mammals, with diverse cellular locations. Recent studies have delineated roles of sirtuins in regulating cardiac pathophysiological conditions under various stressors. SIRT1 is the most extensively studied sirtuin, while the role of other sirtuins in maintaining cardiac growth and function is still emerging. In this review we discuss the present understanding of the role of sirtuins in regulating pathophysiological conditions of the heart.

TrendsCardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death in the industrialized world and people's propensity to develop them increases significantly with age.Recent advances in cell biology have recognized sirtuins as key regulators of many cardiovascular diseases.Of the seven sirtuin isoforms encoded by the mammalian genome, SIRT3 and SIRT6 have been shown to protect the heart against developing pathologic cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure.SIRT1 has been found to protect the heart from ischemia/reperfusion injury but not from adverse cardiac remodeling, while SIRT7 has been shown to protect the heart against developing inflammatory cardiomyopathy.