Sirtuin enzymes comprise a unique class of NAD(+)-dependent protein deacetylases. Although structures of many sirtuin complexes have been determined, structural resolution of intermediate chemical steps are needed to understand the deacetylation mechanism. We report crystal structures of the bacterial sirtuin, Sir2Tm, in complex with an S-alkylamidate intermediate, analogous to the naturally occurring O-alkylamidate intermediate, and a Sir2Tm ternary complex containing a dissociated NAD(+) analog and acetylated peptide. The structures and biochemical studies reveal critical roles for the invariant active site histidine in positioning the reaction intermediate, and for a conserved phenylalanine residue in shielding reaction intermediates from base exchange with nicotinamide. The new structural and biochemical studies provide key mechanistic insight into intermediate steps of the Sir2 deacetylation reaction.

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Abstract:Inhibitors of human NAD + -dependent protein deacetylases possess great value for deciphering the biology of these enzymes and as potential therapeutics for metabolic and agerelated diseases and cancer. In the current study, we have experimentally demonstrated that, the potent inhibition we obtained previously for one of these enzymes (i.e. sirtuin type 1 (SIRT1)) by simply replacing N ε -thioacetyl-lysine for N ε -acetyl-lysine in its peptide substrate, represented a general and efficient strategy to develop potent and selective inhibitors of human NAD + -dependent protein deacetylase enzymes. Indeed, by using this simple inhibition strategy, potent (low-micromolar) and selective (≤40-fold) SIRT2 and SIRT3 inhibitors, which were either comparable or superior to currently existing inhibitors, have also been quickly identified in the current study. These inhibitors could be used as chemical biological tools or as lead compounds for further focused structure-activity optimization.

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Cadherin cell adhesion molecules play crucial roles in vertebrate development including the development of the visual system. Most studies have focused on examining functions of classical type I cadherins (e.g. cadherin-2) in visual system development. There is little information on the function of classical type II cadherins (e.g. cadherin-6) in the development of the vertebrate visual system. To gain insight into cadherin-6 role in the formation of the retina, we analyzed differentiation of retinal ganglion cells, amacrine cells and photoreceptors in zebrafish embryos injected with cadherin-6 specific antisense morpholino oligonucleotides. Differentiation of the retinal neurons in cadherin-6 knockdown embryos (cdh6 morphants) was analyzed using multiple markers. We found that expression of transcription factors important for retinal development was greatly reduced, and expression of Notch-Delta genes and proneural gene ath5 was altered in the cdh6 morphant retina. The retinal lamination was present in the morphants, although the morphant eyes were significantly smaller than control embryos due mainly to decreased cell proliferation. Differentiation of the retinal ganglion cells, amacrine cells and photoreceptors was severely disrupted in the cdh6 morphants due to a significant delay in neuronal differentiation. Our results suggest that cadherin-6 plays an important role in the normal formation of the zebrafish retina.