Optimizing human α-galactosidase for treatment of Fabry disease.

Fabry disease is caused by a deficiency of α-galactosidase A (GLA) leading to the lysosomal accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) and other glycosphingolipids. Fabry patients experience significant damage to the heart, kidney, and blood vessels that can be fatal. Here we apply directed evolution to generate more stable GLA variants as potential next generation treatments for Fabry disease.

A Cryptochrome 2 mutation yields advanced sleep phase in humans.

Familial Advanced Sleep Phase (FASP) is a heritable human sleep phenotype characterized by very early sleep and wake times. We identified a missense mutation in the human Cryptochrome 2 (CRY2) gene that co-segregates with FASP in one family. The mutation leads to replacement of an alanine residue at position 260 with a threonine (A260T).

Circadian control of fatty acid elongation by SIRT1 protein-mediated deacetylation of acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase 1.

The circadian clock regulates a wide range of physiological and metabolic processes, and its disruption leads to metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity. Accumulating evidence reveals that the circadian clock regulates levels of metabolites that, in turn, may regulate the clock. Here we demonstrate that the circadian clock regulates the intracellular levels of acetyl-CoA by modulating the enzymatic activity of acetyl-CoA Synthetase 1 (AceCS1).

Solving the mystery of human sleep schedules one mutation at a time.

Sleep behavior remains one of the most enigmatic areas of life. The unanswered questions range from "why do we sleep?" to "how we can improve sleep in today's society?" Identification of mutations responsible for altered circadian regulation of human sleep lead to unique opportunities for probing these territories. In this review, we summarize causative circadian mutations found from familial genetic studies to date.

Casein kinase iδ mutations in familial migraine and advanced sleep phase.

Migraine is a common disabling disorder with a significant genetic component, characterized by severe headache and often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and light sensitivity. We identified two families, each with a distinct missense mutation in the gene encoding casein kinase Iδ (CKIδ), in which the mutation cosegregated with both the presence of migraine and advanced sleep phase. The resulting alterations (T44A and H46R) occurred in the conserved catalytic domain of CKIδ, where they caused reduced enzyme activity.

Regulation of glycolytic enzyme phosphoglycerate mutase-1 by Sirt1 protein-mediated deacetylation.

Emerging proteomic evidence suggests that acetylation of metabolic enzymes is a prevalent post-translational modification. In a few recent reports, acetylation down-regulated activity of specific enzymes in fatty acid oxidation, urea cycle, electron transport, and anti-oxidant pathways. Here, we reveal that the glycolytic enzyme phosphoglycerate mutase-1 (PGAM1) is negatively regulated by Sirt1, a member of the NAD(+)-dependent protein deacetylases.

Sirt3 promotes the urea cycle and fatty acid oxidation during dietary restriction.

Emerging evidence suggests that protein acetylation is a broad-ranging regulatory mechanism. Here we utilize acetyl-peptide arrays and metabolomic analyses to identify substrates of mitochondrial deacetylase Sirt3. We identified ornithine transcarbamoylase (OTC) from the urea cycle, and enzymes involved in β-oxidation.

Sirt3 mediates reduction of oxidative damage and prevention of age-related hearing loss under caloric restriction.

Caloric restriction (CR) extends the life span and health span of a variety of species and slows the progression of age-related hearing loss (AHL), a common age-related disorder associated with oxidative stress. Here, we report that CR reduces oxidative DNA damage in multiple tissues and prevents AHL in wild-type mice but fails to modify these phenotypes in mice lacking the mitochondrial deacetylase Sirt3, a member of the sirtuin family. In response to CR, Sirt3 directly deacetylates and activates mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (Idh2), leading to increased NADPH levels and an increased ratio of reduced-to-oxidized glutathione in mitochondria.

SIRT3 substrate specificity determined by peptide arrays and machine learning.

Accumulating evidence suggests that reversible protein acetylation may be a major regulatory mechanism that rivals phosphorylation. With the recent cataloging of thousands of acetylation sites on hundreds of proteins comes the challenge of identifying the acetyltransferases and deacetylases that regulate acetylation levels. Sirtuins are a conserved family of NAD(+)-dependent protein deacetylases that are implicated in genome maintenance, metabolism, cell survival, and lifespan.

Nuclear-cytoplasmic localization of acetyl coenzyme a synthetase-1 in the rat brain.

Acetyl coenzyme A synthetase-1 (AceCS1) catalyzes the synthesis of acetyl coenzyme A from acetate and coenzyme A and is thought to play diverse roles ranging from fatty acid synthesis to gene regulation. By using an affinity-purified antibody generated against an 18-mer peptide sequence of AceCS1 and a polyclonal antibody directed against recombinant AceCS1 protein, we examined the expression of AceCS1 in the rat brain. AceCS1 immunoreactivity in the adult rat brain was present predominantly in cell nuclei, with only light to moderate cytoplasmic staining in some neurons, axons, and oligodendrocytes.

Metabolic acetate therapy improves phenotype in the tremor rat model of Canavan disease.

Genetic mutations that severely diminish the activity of aspartoacylase (ASPA) result in the fatal brain dysmyelinating disorder, Canavan disease. There is no effective treatment. ASPA produces free acetate from the concentrated brain metabolite, N-acetylaspartate (NAA).

A continuous microplate assay for sirtuins and nicotinamide-producing enzymes.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent protein deacetylases (sirtuins) and other enzymes that produce nicotinamide are integral to many cellular processes. Yet current activity measurements involve expensive and time-consuming assays. Here we present a spectroscopic assay that circumvents many issues of previous methods.

Ure(k)a! Sirtuins Regulate Mitochondria.

Increasing evidence suggests that multiple metabolic pathways are regulated by sirtuin-dependent protein deacetylation in the mitochondria. In this issue, Nakagawa et al. (2009) show that the sirtuin SIRT5 deacetylates and activates a mitochondrial enzyme, carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1, which mediates the first step in the urea cycle.

Mechanisms and molecular probes of sirtuins.

Sirtuins are critical regulators of many cellular processes, including insulin secretion, the cell cycle, and apoptosis. Sirtuins are associated with a variety of age-associated diseases such as type II diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer's disease. A thorough understanding of sirtuin chemical mechanisms will aid toward developing novel therapeutics that regulate metabolic disorders and combat associated diseases.

Where in the cell is SIRT3?--functional localization of an NAD+-dependent protein deacetylase.

Sirtuins are NAD+-dependent enzymes that have been implicated in a wide range of cellular processes, including pathways that affect diabetes, cancer, lifespan and Parkinson's disease. To understand their cellular function in these age-related diseases, identification of sirtuin targets and their subcellular localization is paramount. SIRT3 (sirtuin 3), a human homologue of Sir2 (silent information regulator 2), has been genetically linked to lifespan in the elderly.

Sirtuins deacetylate and activate mammalian acetyl-CoA synthetases.

Silent Information Regulator 2 (Sir2) enzymes (or sirtuins) are NAD(+)-dependent deacetylases that modulate gene silencing, aging and energy metabolism. Previous work has implicated several transcription factors as sirtuin targets. Here, we investigated whether mammalian sirtuins could directly control the activity of metabolic enzymes.