Sirtuins for Restoring Youthfulness and Extending Longevity
Emerging from current research on the sirtuins there is a growing appreciation that the sirtuins are playing major roles in regulating cell proliferation, cell survival and apoptosis (programmed cell death). Sirtuins block multiple key processes in neurodegeneration. Sirtuins restore protein homeostasis by reducing accumulation of toxic proteins, improve neural plasticity by elevating transcription of genes, enhance mitochondria function by reducing oxidative stress, and suppress sustained chronic inflammation with epigenetic mechanisms. In this article we review the role sirtuin genes for restoring youthfulness and extending longevity. Telomere attrition has been shown to be accelerated by oxidative stress and inflammation. SIRT3 expression increases by exercise, fasting and caloric restriction and decreased by high-fat diet. SIRT1 genes are linked in inflammatory responses. SIRT1 can block the neuropathogenic inflammatory loops.