SIRT3 blocks aging-associated tissue fibrosis in mice by deacetylating and activating glycogen synthase kinase 3β

NR Sundaresan, S Bindu, VB Pillai… - … and cellular biology, 2016 - Taylor & Francis
NR Sundaresan, S Bindu, VB Pillai, S Samant, Y Pan, JY Huang, M Gupta, RS Nagalingam
Molecular and cellular biology, 2016Taylor & Francis
Tissue fibrosis is a major cause of organ dysfunction during chronic diseases and aging. A
critical step in this process is transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1)-mediated
transformation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, cells capable of synthesizing extracellular
matrix. Here, we show that SIRT3 controls transformation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts
via suppressing the profibrotic TGF-β1 signaling. We found that Sirt3 knockout (KO) mice
with age develop tissue fibrosis of multiple organs, including heart, liver, kidney, and lungs …
Tissue fibrosis is a major cause of organ dysfunction during chronic diseases and aging. A critical step in this process is transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1)-mediated transformation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, cells capable of synthesizing extracellular matrix. Here, we show that SIRT3 controls transformation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts via suppressing the profibrotic TGF-β1 signaling. We found that Sirt3 knockout (KO) mice with age develop tissue fibrosis of multiple organs, including heart, liver, kidney, and lungs but not whole-body SIRT3-overexpressing mice. SIRT3 deficiency caused induction of TGF-β1 expression and hyperacetylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) at residue K15, which negatively regulated GSK3β activity to phosphorylate the substrates Smad3 and β-catenin. Reduced phosphorylation led to stabilization and activation of these transcription factors regulating expression of the profibrotic genes. SIRT3 deacetylated and activated GSK3β and thereby blocked TGF-β1 signaling and tissue fibrosis. These data reveal a new role of SIRT3 to negatively regulate aging-associated tissue fibrosis and discloses a novel phosphorylation-independent mechanism controlling the catalytic activity of GSK3β.
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