Sirtuin1: a promising serum protein marker for early detection of Alzheimer's disease

Sirtuin (SIRT) pathway has a crucial role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study evaluated the alterations in serum sirtuin1 (SIRT1) concentration in healthy individuals (young and old) and patients with AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Blood samples were collected from 40 AD and 9 MCI patients as cases and 22 young healthy adults and 22 healthy elderly individuals as controls. Serum SIRT1 was estimated by Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), Western Blot and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). A significant (p<0.0001) decline in SIRT1 concentration was observed in patients with AD (2.27 ± 0.46 ng/µl) and MCI (3.64 ± 0.15 ng/µl) compared to healthy elderly individuals (4.82 ± 0.4 ng/µl). The serum SIRT1 concentration in healthy elderly was also significantly lower (p<0.0001) compared to young healthy controls (8.16 ± 0.87 ng/µl). This study, first of its kind, has demonstrated, decline in serum concentration of SIRT1 in healthy individuals as they age. In patients with AD and MCI the decline was even more pronounced, which provides an opportunity to develop this protein as a predictive marker of AD in early stages with suitable cut off values.