Chair Professor Jang Hyun-wook (College of Pharmacy) becomes first to explain the allergy suppression mechanism of the longevity gene ‘Sirt1’

Published on online version of Nature's sister journal ‘Scientific Report’ 

[August 8, 2017]

YU Chair Professor Jang Hyun-wook (College of Pharmacy) became the first to explain that the 'Sirt1' gene, which is also known as the longevity gene, suppresses allergic reactions.

In 2013 and 2014, Professor Jang scientifically revealed that by artificially activating 'AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase)', which is a sensor protein to maintain the homeostasis of body energy, it is possible to not only treat metabolism-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, but also allergy-related diseases as well. The research results at the time received huge attention from academic circles in that is provided the cornerstone for developing new drugs that can treat metabolism-related diseases and allergy-related diseases simultaneously.

 Upon continuously conducting allergic reaction adjustment research through the interaction of proteins within cells, Professor Jang confirmed through his research that 'Sirt1' suppresses allergic reactions.

'Sirt1' is a protein that detects changes in bio energy like 'AMPK' and it is an enzyme with deacetylation activation. 'Sirt1' is known to have effects for extending longevity by suppressing the death of old cells. Its suppression of calories reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and it is known to be one of the best ways to prolong life. Its effects have been proven time and again in various life forms through scientific experiments. The core adjusting factor for this is the 'Sirt1' gene.

 Professor Jang said, "'Mast cell', which is a key cell that causes allergic reactions, suppresses the activation of obesity cells by having 'Sirt1' form a compound with 'LKB1' and 'AMPK' when there are no antigen-antibody stimulation. However, dissociation occurs in this compound when stimulated, and instead, the dephosphorylation enzyme 'PTP1B' forms a compound with 'Syk kinase' to generate mediators that cause allergies to promote allergic reactions, which was confirmed through this research." He also added, "Through this process, it was confirmed for the first time through cell and animal tests that 'Sirt1' and 'PTP1B' can adjust allergic reactions through mutual reverse action."

The results of this study are significant in that it provided important base data that pharmacologically 'Sirt1 activation' or 'PTP1B suppression' can be used for developing new medicine that improve not only allergic diseases but also metabolism-related diseases.

Professor Jang announced his future research plans stating, "In addition to the Sirt1, which is the adjusting protein of AMPK, I will continue research on allergic reaction adjustment mechanism research through interaction with new adjusting proteins and research on finding ‘Sirt1-LKB1-AMPK’ route activators."

This study was carried out as the 'basic research lab support project (BRL)' supported by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the National Research Foundation. The research results were published in the sister journal of Nature, 'Scientific Reports' online version (July 25, 2017).