The SARM1 TIR domain produces glycocyclic ADPR molecules as minor products

Sterile alpha and TIR motif-containing 1 (SARM1) is a protein involved in programmed death of injured axons. Following axon injury or a drug-induced insult, the TIR domain of SARM1 degrades the essential molecule nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), leading to a form of axonal death called Wallerian degeneration. Degradation of NAD+ by SARM1 is essential for the Wallerian degeneration process, but accumulating evidence suggest that other activities of SARM1, beyond the mere degradation of NAD+, may be necessary for programmed axonal death. In this study we show that the TIR domains of both human and fruit fly SARM1 produce 1''-2' and 1''-3' glycocyclic ADP-ribose (gcADPR) molecules as minor products. As previously reported, we observed that SARM1 TIR domains mostly convert NAD+ to ADPR (for human SARM1) or cADPR (in the case of SARM1 from Drosophila melanogaster). However, we now show that human and Drosophila SARM1 additionally convert ~0.1-0.5% of NAD+ into gcADPR molecules. We find that SARM1 TIR domains produce gcADPR molecules both when purified in vitro and when expressed in bacterial cells. Given that gcADPR is a second messenger involved in programmed cell death in bacteria and likely in plants, we propose that gcADPR may play a role in SARM1-induced programmed axonal death in animals.