Thiobarbiturates as sirtuin inhibitors: virtual screening, free-energy calculations, and biological testing.

NAD+-dependent histone deacetylases (sirtuins) are enzymes that cleave acetyl groups from lysine residues in histones and other proteins. Potent selective sirtuin inhibitors are interesting tools for the investigation of the biological functions of these enzymes and may be future drugs for the treatment of cancer or neurodegenerative diseases. Herein we present the results from a protein-based virtual screen of a commercial database with subsequent biological testing of the most promising compounds.