Pharmaceutica Analytica Acta

Abstract

Effect of Lignin Glycosides Extracted from Pine Cones on the Human SIRT1 Promoter

Fumiaki Uchiumi, Haruki Tachibana, Steven Larsen and Sei-ichi Tanuma

Sirtuins (SIRT1-7) and telomerase (TERT) are known to be involved in the regulation of cellular senescence/ aging processes. Resveratrol (Rsv), a natural polyphenol, which has been shown to extend the lifespan of diverse range of species. Furthermore, Rsv has been shown to activate SIRT1, the class III NAD+ dependent histone deacetylases (HDACs), directly in mammalian cells. Here, we examined the changes in promoter activities of the human SIRT1 and TERT genes after treatment with Rsv and lignin glycosidases/lignin carbohydrate complexes (LCC) extracted from pine cones of Pinus Karalensis. We constructed Luciferase (Luc) expression vectors, pGL4- SIRT1 and pGL4-TERT, containing 396-bp and 263-bp of the 5?-upstream regions of human SIRT1 and TERT genes, respectively, which were then transfected into HeLa S3 cells. The Luc reporter plasmid assay revealed that treatment with the LCC increases not only SIRT1 but also TERT promoter activities more than that with Rsv. These results suggest that the LCC from pine cones induces expression of both SIRT1 and TERT genes, which is thought to have anti-aging effects.