The deacetylase SIRT6 reduces amyloid pathology and supports cognition in mice by reducing the stability of APP in neurons

Sci Signal. 2024 Dec 10;17(866):eado1035. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.ado1035. Epub 2024 Dec 10.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an aging-related neurodegenerative disorder that results in progressively impaired memory and is often associated with amyloid plaques. Previous studies implicate the deacetylases SIRT1 and SIRT2 in regulating the processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP). Here, we investigated whether APP is regulated by the related deacetylase SIRT6, which shows aging-associated decreases in activity. We found that the abundance of SIRT6 was reduced in the cortex and hippocampus of aged and AD model mice and negatively correlated with that of APP. In mouse hippocampal neurons and transfected human cells, SIRT6 interacted with and deacetylated APP at three consecutive Lys residues (Lys649, Lys650, and Lys651). This deacetylation, in turn, increased the ubiquitylation of APP, leading to its proteasomal degradation. SIRT6 abundance in neurons was reduced by oxidative stress and DNA damage, both of which are implicated in neurodegenerative pathology. Systemic pharmacological activation of SIRT6 ameliorated both amyloid pathology and cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 mice, a mouse model of AD. The findings demonstrate that the activity of SIRT6 destabilizes APP and suggest that activating SIRT6 has therapeutic potential to reduce amyloid-associated pathology in patients with AD.

MeSH terms

  • Acetylation
  • Alzheimer Disease* / genetics
  • Alzheimer Disease* / metabolism
  • Alzheimer Disease* / pathology
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor* / genetics
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor* / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Cognition
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Hippocampus / metabolism
  • Hippocampus / pathology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Neurons* / metabolism
  • Neurons* / pathology
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects
  • Protein Stability
  • Sirtuins* / genetics
  • Sirtuins* / metabolism
  • Ubiquitination

Substances

  • Sirtuins
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor
  • Sirt6 protein, mouse
  • SIRT6 protein, human