Experimental approaches for investigating sirtuin-mediated mitochondrial function, cellular metabolism, and epigenetic regulation.
Cellular pathways for experimental discovery provide a comprehensive overview of sirtuin biology and its critical involvement in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) and related neurodegenerative diseases, highlighting the translational potential of sirtuin-targeted therapeutic strategies. As NAD+-dependent deacetylases and ADP-ribosyl transferases, sirtuins regulate diverse cellular processes, including stem cell maintenance, cellular proliferation, metabolic homeostasis, apoptosis, autophagy, oxidative stress responses, and genomic stability, all of which contribute to neuronal dysfunction and disease progression. This chapter focuses on key mammalian sirtuins, including SIRT1 and SIRT2, which are primarily localized within the nucleus and cytosol; mitochondrial sirtuins SIRT3, SIRT4, and SIRT5; and nuclear/nucleolar sirtuins SIRT6 and SIRT7. Here, a method with a detailed protocol to isolate compartment-specific sirtuin expression and activity was used: subcellular fractionation was performed using a subcellular fractionation kit to obtain cytosolic and nuclear fractions, while mitochondrial isolation was carried out using Tom20 antibody-conjugated magnetic microbeads. These approaches were applied to brain tissues from HIV-positive individuals, as well as to HIV-Tat-treated human microglial (HMC3) cells and astrocytes. This experimental framework enables accurate assessment of compartment-resolved sirtuin regulation in disease-relevant models. Collectively, the chapter highlights the protective roles of sirtuins in mitigating key pathogenic mechanisms underlying HAND and related neurodegenerative diseases. These findings support the emerging concept that sirtuins represent promising pharmacological targets for the development of novel therapeutic interventions in neurodegeneration and HIV-associated brain disorders.