A High-Throughput Fluorescence Polarization Assay for Screening Sirtuin Inhibitors

Kewen Peng1,2, Suryadeep Chakraborty1,3, Yizhen Jin1,3

  • 1Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States.

ACS Chemical Biology
|April 17, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Researchers developed a new high-throughput assay using fluorescent polarization to screen for sirtuin (SIRT1-3) inhibitors. This method accelerates the discovery of potential anticancer drugs targeting sirtuins.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Drug Discovery

Background:

  • Sirtuins (SIRTs) are enzymes that regulate crucial cellular processes like metabolism and DNA repair.
  • Sirtuins are implicated in cancer development and are promising therapeutic targets.
  • Developing selective sirtuin inhibitors requires efficient high-throughput screening (HTS) methods.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To design and validate a novel, robust, and high-throughput fluorescent polarization (FP) competition assay for screening SIRT1-3 inhibitors.
  • To utilize a newly synthesized high-affinity FP tracer (KP-SC-1) for assay development.
  • To enable the identification of both NAD+-dependent and NAD+-independent SIRT1-3 inhibitors.

Main Methods:

  • Design and synthesis of a fluorescent polarization (FP) tracer, KP-SC-1.
  • Development of a high-throughput FP competition assay for SIRT1-3.
  • Validation of the assay using known SIRT1-3 inhibitors and pilot library screening.

Main Results:

  • A robust, high-throughput FP competition assay for SIRT1-3 inhibitors was successfully developed.
  • The assay demonstrated stability and outstanding performance in pilot screening.
  • The FP assay requires significantly less SIRT1-3 enzyme compared to previous methods, enhancing efficiency for HTS.

Conclusions:

  • The developed FP assay is a valuable tool for accelerating the discovery and development of SIRT1-3 inhibitors.
  • This assay facilitates the identification of novel anticancer drug candidates targeting sirtuins.
  • The reduced enzyme requirement makes the assay particularly suitable for large-scale drug screening efforts.

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