SIRT3 deacetylated and increased citrate synthase activity in PD model

SIRT3 have been found to be neuroprotective in many neurological diseases, but its detail mechanism is only partially understood. In this study, MPP⁺ was used to treat SH-SY5Y cells as the cellular model of PD to test the role of SIRT3 and the mechanism may be involved in. We focused on the changes and relationship between SIRT3 and the key mitochondrial enzymes citrate synthase (CS) and isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2). We found MPP⁺ decreased SIRT3 expression. And our results showed that the enzymatic activities of CS and IDH2 were significantly reduced in MPP⁺ treatment cells, while protein acetylation of CS and IDH2 increased. However overexpressed-SIRT3 partially reversed at least, the decline of CS activity and the increase of CS protein acetylation. IDH2 did not showed the same changes. The study suggested that SIRT3 deacetylated and activated CS activity. Hence, we conclude that SIRT3 exhibits neuroprotection via deacetylating and increasing mitochondrial enzyme activities.