Dual role of sirtuins in cancer

Abstract

Sirtuins are a family of proteins that show NAD+-dependent deacetylase activity, although some of them present other functions as well. Although they were initially identified as key players in aging, sirtuins regulate responses to different kind of cellular stress and can drive important transcriptional and metabolic changes, ultimately influencing cell homeostasis. All seven sirtuins have different targets and biological functions in normal cell physiology and disease. Evidence suggests that sirtuins may play an important role in cancer, although some reports describe an oncogenic function, while others support their function as tumor suppressors. In this chapter, we discuss the role of sirtuins in cancer development and progression, including aspects such as tumor metabolism, redox homeostasis, DNA damage response, metastasis, cancer cell stemness, and response to treatment.