The role of SIRT6 in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

SIRT6, a member of the silencing information regulatory protein family, is a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent histone deacetylase and an ADP-ribose transferase enzyme. It plays an important role in fundamental physiological and pathological processes, including lipid metabolism, inflammation, oxidative stress and fibrosis, and is considered as a potential therapeutic target for metabolic syndrome. SIRT6 knockout mice displayed severe fatty liver, and the expression of SIRT6 in the liver of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) mice was significantly lower than that of normal mice. Overexpression of SIRT6 significantly ameliorated NASH-induced liver damage. It is suggested that SIRT6 may play a key role in protecting against NASH. In this paper, we review the important regulatory functions of SIRT6 in the occurrence and development of NASH.