Role of SIRT5 in cancer. Friend or Foe?
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2025
Deacetylation Assays to Unravel the Interplay between Sirtuins SIRT2 and Specific Protein-substrates
Published on: February 27, 2016
Francisco Alejandro Lagunas-Rangel1
1Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.
Abstract:
Cancer is one of the main diseases currently afflicting mankind, being difficult to treat and generating thousands of deaths per year. As a result, researchers around the world are constantly searching for new therapeutic strategies to increase the survival rate of patients. In this regard, SIRT5 may be a promising therapeutic target due to its involvement in many metabolic pathways. Notably, SIRT5 has a dual role in the context of cancer, being able to act as a tumor suppressor in some types of cancer and behaving as an oncogene in others. Interestingly, the performance of SIRT5 is not specific and is highly dependent on the cellular context. As a tumor suppressor, SIRT5 prevents the Warburg effect, increases protection against ROS and reduces cell proliferation and metastasis, while as an oncogene it has the opposite effects as well as increasing resistance to chemotherapeutics and/or radiation. In this way, the aim of this work was to identify in which cancers SIRT5 has beneficial effects and in which deleterious ones based on their molecular characteristics. Furthermore, it was analyzed whether it is feasible to use this protein as a therapeutic target, either enhancing its activity or inhibiting it as appropriate.
Insights
SIRT5 protein shows a dual role in cancer, acting as a tumor suppressor or oncogene depending on the cancer type. Understanding its context is key for developing new cancer therapies targeting SIRT5.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide, necessitating novel therapeutic strategies.
- Sirtuin 5 (SIRT5) is implicated in various metabolic pathways relevant to cancer.
- SIRT5 exhibits context-dependent roles in cancer, functioning as either a tumor suppressor or an oncogene.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the specific roles of SIRT5 in different cancer types.
- To determine the molecular characteristics associated with SIRT5's beneficial or deleterious effects in cancer.
- To evaluate the therapeutic potential of targeting SIRT5 in cancer treatment.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of molecular characteristics across various cancer types.
- Correlation of SIRT5 activity with cancer progression and treatment resistance.
- Bioinformatic and experimental approaches to assess SIRT5's functional impact.
Main Results:
- SIRT5 acts as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting the Warburg effect, enhancing reactive oxygen species (ROS) protection, and reducing proliferation and metastasis.
- SIRT5 functions as an oncogene by promoting opposite effects and increasing resistance to chemotherapy and radiation.
- The specific role of SIRT5 is highly dependent on the cellular and molecular context of the cancer.
Conclusions:
- SIRT5 presents a promising, yet complex, therapeutic target in oncology.
- Tailoring therapeutic strategies to the specific role of SIRT5 in different cancers is crucial for effective treatment.
- Further research is warranted to fully elucidate SIRT5's mechanisms and optimize its targeting in cancer therapy.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:40Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...
01:05Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
01:12Loss of Tumor Suppressor Gene Functions
When the tumor suppressor genes develop mutations or are lost, cells start growing out of control, leading to cancer. However, a single functional copy of the tumor suppressor gene is enough for the cells to maintain their normal functions and cell...
02:53Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
01:20The Retinoblastoma Gene
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,...
01:03Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...