Sirt-1 is required for the inhibition of apoptosis and inflammatory responses in human tenocytes.

Tendon overuse injuries and tendinitis are accompanied by catabolic processes and apoptosis of tenocytes. However, the precise molecular mechanisms of the destructive processes in tendon are not fully understood. Sirt-1, a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+))-dependent deacetylase, has been linked to transcriptional silencing and appears to play a key role in inflammation. The purpose of this study was to examine whether down-regulation of Sirt-1 using antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) affects inflammatory and apoptotic signaling in tenocytes. Transient transfection of tenocytes with ASO against Sirt-1 induced expression of Bax and other proteins involved in apoptosis (cleaved caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase), acetylation of tumor suppressor p53, and mitochondrial degradation. Interestingly, Sirt-1 was found to interact directly with p53. In contrast, Sirt-1 activator resveratrol inhibited interleukin-1β (IL-1β)- and nicotinamide-induced NF-κB activation and p65 acetylation and suppressed the activation of IκB-α kinase. Resveratrol also reversed the IL-1β- or nicotinamide-induced up-regulation of various gene products that mediate inflammation (cyclooxygenase-2) and matrix degradation (matrix metalloproteinase-9) that are known to be regulated by NF-κB. Knockdown of Sirt-1 by using ASO abolished the inhibitory effects of resveratrol on inflammatory and apoptotic signaling including Akt activation and SCAX suppression. Down-regulation of histone deacetylase Sirt-1 by mRNA interference abrogated the effect of resveratrol on NF-κB suppression, thus highlighting the crucial homeostatic role of this enzyme. Overall, these results suggest for the first time that Sirt-1 can regulate p53 and NF-κB signaling via deacetylation, demonstrating a novel role for resveratrol in the treatment of tendinitis/tendinopathy.