Sirtuins Expression and Their Role in Retinal Diseases

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 7, 2026

Deacetylation Assays to Unravel the Interplay between Sirtuins SIRT2 and Specific Protein-substrates
14:32

Deacetylation Assays to Unravel the Interplay between Sirtuins SIRT2 and Specific Protein-substrates

Published on: February 27, 2016

8.7K

Sankarathi Balaiya1, Khaled K Abu-Amero2, Altaf A Kondkar3

  • 1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Florida College of Medicine, 580 W. 8th Street, Tower-2, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA; The Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.

Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity
|February 16, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Sirtuins, NAD-dependent enzymes, protect against oxidative stress and retinal degeneration. This review explores their role in neuroophthalmic diseases like glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Ophthalmology

Background:

  • Sirtuins, including yeast Sir2, are NAD-dependent enzymes with roles in aging and cellular stress.
  • Oxidative stress and apoptosis contribute to neurodegenerative eye diseases.
  • Sirtuins offer protection against oxidative stress and retinal degeneration.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current knowledge of the mammalian sirtuin (SIRT) family (SIRT1-SIRT7).
  • To discuss sirtuin structure, cellular location, and biological functions.
  • To focus on the role of sirtuins in neuroophthalmic diseases such as glaucoma, optic neuritis, and age-related macular degeneration.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of sirtuin family proteins.
  • Analysis of sirtuin structure, localization, and enzymatic activities.
  • Examination of sirtuin involvement in neuroophthalmic disease pathogenesis.

Main Results:

  • Sirtuins exhibit diverse tissue specificity, subcellular localization, and enzymatic targets.
  • Sirtuins play a protective role against oxidative stress and retinal degeneration.
  • Specific sirtuins are implicated in the pathology of glaucoma, optic neuritis, and AMD.

Conclusions:

  • Sirtuins are crucial regulators with significant implications for neuroophthalmic diseases.
  • Understanding sirtuin function may reveal novel therapeutic targets for conditions like glaucoma and AMD.
  • Further research into sirtuin pathways could lead to new treatment strategies for vision loss.

Related Concept Videos

The Retinoblastoma Gene01:20

The Retinoblastoma Gene

Tumor suppressor genes are normal genes that can slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes, or program the cells for apoptosis in case of irreparable damage. Hence, they play an essential role in preventing the proliferation of damaged cells.
The first-ever tumor suppressor gene called Rb was identified in retinoblastoma - a rare eye tumor in children. In inherited forms of the disease, a child inherits one defective copy of the Rb gene, which predisposes them to retinoblastoma. However,...
4.9K
iPS Cell Differentiation01:22

iPS Cell Differentiation

The ability of induced pluripotent stem cells or iPSCs to differentiate into most body cell types has stimulated repair and regenerative medicine research over the past few decades. iPSC-derived blood cells, hepatocytes, beta islet cells, cardiomyocytes, neurons, and other cell types can repair injuries or regenerate damaged tissue in diseases such as diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders.
3.2K