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Heart failure (HF) is defined as an inability of the heart to pump blood sufficiently to meet the metabolic demands of the body. HF with systolic dysfunction is caused by a progressive decline in contractile function and chronic hemodynamic overload, and characterized by ventricular hypertrophy and remodeling, neurohormonal compensation mechanisms, and myocardial damage. Transverse aortic constriction (TAC) is a well-established model for inducing hypertrophy and HF in rodents. Mice globally deficient in sirtuin 5 (SIRT5), a NAD + -dependent deacylase, are hypersensitive to cardiac stress and display increased mortality after TAC. Prior studies assessing SIRT5 functions in the heart have all employed loss-of-function approaches. In this study, we generated SIRT5 overexpressing (SIRT5OE) mice, and evaluated their response to chronic pressure overload using TAC. Compared to littermate controls, elevated SIRT5 levels promoted maintenance of cardiac contractile function after 4 weeks of pressure overload, at which point control mice had developed systolic dysfunction, characterized by decreased EF, coupled with ventricular dilation, remodeling and fibrosis. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that SIRT5 suppresses key HF sequelae, including metabolic switch from fatty acid oxidation to glycolysis and immune activation ( i.e., TGFβ, IL6, Renin-Angiotensin, and NFAT, and fibrotic signaling pathways). We conclude that SIRT5 is a limiting factor in the preservation of cardiac function in response to experimental pressure overload.

Heart failure (HF) is defined as an inability of the heart to pump blood adequately to meet the body’s metabolic demands. HF with reduced systolic function is characterized by cardiac hypertrophy, ventricular fibrosis and remodeling, and decreased cardiac contractility, leading to cardiac functional impairment and death. Transverse aortic constriction (TAC) is a well-established model for inducing hypertrophy and HF in rodents. Mice globally deficient in sirtuin 5 (SIRT5), a NAD+-dependent deacylase, are hypersensitive to cardiac stress and display increased mortality after TAC. Prior studies assessing SIRT5 functions in the heart have all employed loss-of-function approaches. In this study, we generated SIRT5 overexpressing (SIRT5OE) mice, and evaluated their response to chronic pressure overload induced by TAC. Compared to littermate controls, SIRT5OE mice were protected from left ventricular dilation and impaired ejection fraction, adverse functional consequences of TAC. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that SIRT5 suppresses key HF sequelae, including the metabolic switch from fatty acid oxidation to glycolysis, immune activation, and increased fibrotic signaling. We conclude that SIRT5 is a limiting factor in the preservation of cardiac function in response to experimental pressure overload.

Cutaneous melanoma remains the most lethal skin cancer, and ranks third among all malignancies in terms of years of life lost. Despite the advent of immune checkpoint and targeted therapies, only roughly half of patients with advanced melanoma achieve a durable remission. Sirtuin 5 (SIRT5) is a member of the sirtuin family of protein deacylases that regulates metabolism and other biological processes. Germline Sirt5 deficiency is associated with mild phenotypes in mice. Here we showed that SIRT5 was required for proliferation and survival across all cutaneous melanoma genotypes tested, as well as uveal melanoma, a genetically distinct melanoma subtype that arises in the eye and is incurable once metastatic. Likewise, SIRT5 was required for efficient tumor formation by melanoma xenografts and in an autochthonous mouse Braf Pten–driven melanoma model. Via metabolite and transcriptomic analyses, we found that SIRT5 was required to maintain histone acetylation and methylation levels in melanoma cells, thereby promoting proper gene expression. SIRT5-dependent genes notably included MITF, a key lineage-specific survival oncogene in melanoma, and the c-MYC proto-oncogene. SIRT5 may represent a druggable genotype-independent addiction in melanoma.

Cutaneous melanoma remains the most lethal skin cancer, and ranks third among all malignancies in terms of years of life lost. Despite the advent of immune checkpoint and targeted therapies, only roughly half of patients with advanced melanoma achieves a durable remission. SIRT5 is a member of the sirtuin family of protein deacylases that regulate metabolism and other biological processes. Germline Sirt5 deficiency is associated with mild phenotypes in mice. Here we show that SIRT5 is required for proliferation and survival across all cutaneous melanoma genotypes tested, as well as uveal melanoma, a genetically distinct melanoma subtype that arises in the eye and is incurable once metastatic. Likewise, SIRT5 is required for efficient tumor formation by melanoma xenografts and in an autochthonous mouse Braf;Pten-driven melanoma model. Via metabolite and transcriptomic analyses, we find that SIRT5 is required to maintain histone acetylation and methylation levels in melanoma cells, thereby promoting proper gene expression. SIRT5-dependent genes notably include MITF, a key lineage-specific survival oncogene in melanoma, and the c-MYC proto-oncogene. SIRT5 may represent a novel, druggable genotype-independent addiction in melanoma.

Protein function is regulated by diverse posttranslational modifications. The mitochondrial sirtuin SIRT5 removes malonyl and succinyl moieties from target lysines. The spectrum of protein substrates subject to these modifications is unknown. We report systematic profiling of the mammalian succinylome, identifying 2,565 succinylation sites on 779 proteins. Most of these do not overlap with acetylation sites, suggesting differential regulation of succinylation and acetylation. Our analysis reveals potential impacts of lysine succinylation on enzymes involved in mitochondrial metabolism; e.g., amino acid degradation, the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) cycle, and fatty acid metabolism. Lysine succinylation is also present on cytosolic and nuclear proteins; indeed, we show that a substantial fraction of SIRT5 is extra-mitochondrial. SIRT5 represses biochemical activity of, and cellular respiration through, two protein complexes identified in our analysis, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and succinate dehydrogenase. Our data reveal widespread roles for lysine succinylation in regulating metabolism and potentially other cellular functions.