Sirt1 protects neural stem cells from apoptosis by decreasing acetylation of histone 3K9

Chongdong Jian,1,* Cuihua Zou,1,* Ning Xu,2 Guoying Chen,2 Donghua Zou2 1Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, Guangxi 533000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: To explore the role and mechanism of Sirt1 in protecting neural stem cells (NSCs) from apoptosis. Materials and methods: Transfection was used to overexpress Sirt1 in rat NSCs. The effect of Sirt1 overexpression on camptothecin-induced apoptosis of NSCs was evaluated. Western blotting was used to examine the expression of Sirt1, cleaved caspase-3, and acetylated histone 3K9. Results: Overexpression of Sirt1 in NSCs decreased the cleavage of caspase-3 and acetylation of histone 3K9. Conclusion: Sirt1 may protect NSCs from apoptosis by decreasing the acetylation of histone 3 on K9. Keywords: neural stem cells, apoptosis, Sirt1, caspase-3, acetylated histone 3K