Sirtuin 2, a mammalian homolog of yeast silent information regulator-2 longevity regulator, is an oligodendroglial protein that decelerates cell differentiation through deacetylating alpha-tubulin

J Neurosci. 2007 Mar 7;27(10):2606-16. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4181-06.2007.

Abstract

Silent information regulator-2 (SIR2) proteins regulate lifespan of diverse organisms, but their distribution and roles in the CNS remain unclear. Here, we show that sirtuin 2 (SIRT2), a mammalian SIR2 homolog, is an oligodendroglial cytoplasmic protein and localized to the outer and juxtanodal loops in the myelin sheath. Among cytoplasmic proteins of OLN-93 oligodendrocytes, alpha-tubulin was the main substrate of SIRT2 deacetylase. In cultured primary oligodendrocyte precursors (OLPs), SIRT2 emergence accompanied elevated alpha-tubulin acetylation and OLP differentiation into the prematurity stage. Small interfering RNA knockdown of SIRT2 increased the alpha-tubulin acetylation, myelin basic protein expression, and cell arbor complexity of OLPs. SIRT2 overexpression had the opposite effects, and counteracted the cell arborization-promoting effect of overexpressed juxtanodin. SIRT2 mutation concomitantly reduced its deacetylase activity and its impeding effect on OLP arborization. These results demonstrated a counterbalancing role of SIRT2 against a facilitatory effect of tubulin acetylation on oligodendroglial differentiation. Selective SIRT2 availability to oligodendroglia may have important implications for myelinogenesis, myelin-axon interaction, and brain aging.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acetylation / drug effects
  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation / drug effects
  • Cell Differentiation / physiology*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Cellular Senescence
  • Central Nervous System / metabolism
  • Cytoplasm / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Histone Deacetylases
  • Myelin Sheath / metabolism
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / physiology*
  • Oligodendroglia / cytology*
  • Oligodendroglia / metabolism*
  • Oligodendroglia / physiology
  • RNA, Small Interfering / pharmacology
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Silent Information Regulator Proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae
  • Sirtuin 2
  • Sirtuins / genetics
  • Sirtuins / metabolism
  • Sirtuins / pharmacology
  • Sirtuins / physiology*
  • Time Factors
  • Transfection
  • Tubulin / metabolism*

Substances

  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • Silent Information Regulator Proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae
  • Sirt2 protein, rat
  • Tubulin
  • SIR2 protein, S cerevisiae
  • Sirtuin 2
  • Sirtuins
  • Histone Deacetylases