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SIRT1 protects against cigarette smoke-induced lung oxidative stress via FOXO3-dependent mechanism

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AJP Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology

Published online on

Abstract

Oxidative and carbonyl stress is increased in lungs of smokers and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as in cigarette smoke (CS)-exposed rodent lungs. We previously showed that sirtuin1 (SIRT1), an anti-aging protein, is reduced in lungs of CS-exposed mice and COPD patients, and that SIRT1 attenuates CS-induced lung inflammation and injury. It is not clear whether SIRT1 protects against CS-induced lung oxidative stress. Therefore, we determined the effect of SIRT1 on lung oxidative stress and antioxidants in response to CS exposure using loss and gain of function approaches, as well as a pharmacological SIRT1 activation by SRT1720. We found that CS exposure increased protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation in lungs of WT mice, which was further augmented in SIRT1 deficient mice. Furthermore, both SIRT1 genetic overexpression and SRT1720 treatment significantly decreased oxidative stress induced by CS exposure. FOXO3 deletion augmented lipid peroxidation products but reduced antioxidants in response to CS exposure, which was not affected by SRT1720. Interestingly, SRT1720 treatment exhibited a similar effect on lipid peroxidation and antioxidants (i.e., MnSOD, HO-1 and NQO-1) in WT and Nrf2 deficient mice in response to CS exposure. This indicates that SIRT1 protects against CS-induced oxidative stress, which is mediated by FOXO3, but is independent of Nrf2. Overall, these findings reveal a novel function of SIRT1, which is to reduce CS-induced oxidative stress, and this may contribute to its protective effects against lung inflammation and subsequent development of COPD.