Cited by 661Sirtuins and Resveratrol in MedicineHistone Deacetylase Inhibitors ResearchNuclear Structure and Function

Activation of the Protein Deacetylase SIRT6 by Long-chain Fatty Acids and Widespread Deacylation by Mammalian Sirtuins

Open access
Feldman, Jessica L., Baeza, Josue, Denu, John M.·2013·Journal of Biological Chemistry

Abstract

Mammalian sirtuins (SIRT1 through SIRT7) are members of a highly conserved family of NAD + -dependent protein deacetylases that function in metabolism, genome maintenance, and stress responses. Emerging evidence suggests that some sirtuins display substrate specificity toward other acyl groups attached to the lysine ϵ-amine. SIRT6 was recently reported to preferentially hydrolyze long-chain fatty acyl groups over acetyl groups. Here we investigated the catalytic ability of all sirtuins to hydrolyze 13 different acyl groups from histone H3 peptides, ranging in carbon length, saturation, and chemical diversity. We find that long-chain deacylation is a general feature of mammalian sirtuins, that SIRT1 and SIRT2 act as efficient decrotonylases, and that SIRT1, SIRT2, SIRT3, and SIRT4 can remove lipoic acid. These results provide new insight into sirtuin function and a means for cellular removal of an expanding list of endogenous lysine modifications. Given that SIRT6 is a poor deacetylase in vitro , but binds and prefers to hydrolyze long-chain acylated peptides, we hypothesize that binding of certain free fatty acids (FFAs) could stimulate deacetylation activity. Indeed, we demonstrate that several biologically relevant FFAs (including myristic, oleic, and linoleic acids) at physiological concentrations induce up to a 35-fold increase in catalytic efficiency of SIRT6 but not SIRT1. The activation mechanism is consistent with fatty acid inducing a conformation that binds acetylated H3 with greater affinity. Binding of long-chain FFA and myristoylated H3 peptide is mutually exclusive. We discuss the implications of discovering endogenous, small-molecule activators of SIRT6. Background: Sirtuins regulate metabolism, genome maintenance, and stress responses. Results: Long-chain free fatty acids stimulate SIRT6 deacetylase, and sirtuins display distinct but overlapping specificity for diverse acylated peptides. Conclusion: SIRT6 is activated by biologically relevant fatty acids, and long-chain deacylation is a general feature of sirtuins. Significance: Discovery of endogenous, small-molecule activators of SIRT6 demonstrates the therapeutic potential of compounds that promote SIRT6 function.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1074/jbc.c113.511261

Cites

38 of 38 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Some sirtuin family members mediate non-acetyl lysine acylations, such as succinylation, malonylation and fatty acid acylation, whose cellular functions are poorly understood.

    “Additionally, some members of the sirtuin family mediate non-acetyl lysine acylations (for example, succinylation, malonylation and fatty acid acylation)13–15, the cellular functions of which are so far poorly understood16.”
  • Sirtuins 1, 2 and 3 have been shown to be decrotonylases in vitro.

    “Unsurprisingly, given the range of their potential substrates, sirtuins 1, 216 and 317 were shown to be decrotonylases in vitro.”
  • Decrotonylase activity has been described for HDAC1-3 and Sirtuins 1-3.

    “To date, decrotonylase activity has been described for HDAC1-3 and Sirtuins 1-316–18,21,22.”
  • This is the first report of a zinc-dependent HDAC with defatty-acylation activity.

    “While some of the sirtuins, the NAD+-dependent HDACs, have been recognized as protein defatty-acylases,12,16,17 this is the first report of a zinc-dependent HDAC possessing this enzymatic activity.”
  • Several NAD+-dependent deacetylases, SIRT1, SIRT2, SIRT3 and SIRT6, have been previously reported to possess lysine defatty-acylation activities.

    “Several NAD+-dependent deacetylase, SIRT1, SIRT2, SIRT3 and SIRT6, have been previously reported to possess lysine defatty-acylation activities.15-17”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

1 retracted

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Feldman, J. L., Baeza, J., & Denu, J. M.
Affiliations
University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
Corresponding author
Denu, John M.
Venue
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-10
Volume
288
Issue
43
Pages
31350-31356
ISSN
0021-9258 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2061576857
Cited by
637
References
38
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 61 · 2020: 55 · 2019: 53 · 2018: 66 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 73 · 2015: 53 · 2014: 37 · 2013: 5
FWCI
26.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Biological Chemistry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Cancer Institute (P30CA014520)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM-065386, R01GM065386, T32GM007215, R37GM059785)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Sirtuins and Resveratrol in Medicine
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Nuclear Structure and Function
Keywords
SIRT6, sirtuins, long-chain fatty acids, lysine acylation, histone H3, free fatty acids, enzyme activation, substrate specificity, myristoylation, NAD+-dependent deacetylase
MeSH terms
Acylation, Enzyme Activation, Fatty Acids, Histones, Humans, Hydrolysis, Sirtuins, Lipoylation, Sirtuin 1, Sirtuin 2, Sirtuin 3

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review