Protein of the Day #20: Sirtuin1

This week there is an set of articles in Science on the protein Sirtuin1. The sirtuin family is very interesting, involved in ageing, epigenetic gene silencing, and other cellular regulation. The Science articles provide some new links of Sirtuin1 to circadian rhythms and matebolism.

Here's a static shot of the common 3D domain of the sirtuin superfamily:



The NAD+ dependence of Sirtuin1 seems to be an important link between the circadian system, the metabolic state of the cell, and genetic regulation. As always, I am wondering if there are connections here to mammalian hibernation...