The Potential Impact of Sirtuin 1 Protein on Premature Ovarian Insufficiency

Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) is a fertility-related disorder affecting 1% of women. It is defined as the development of hypergonadotropic hypogonadism before the typical natural age of the menopause. The diagnosis of POI, previously described as premature ovarian failure, is one of unexpected, bad news for generally young, healthy and well-being women less than 40 years old. Despite iatrogenic and genetic pathogenesis approximately 90% of cases are diagnosed accidentally with unknown etiology. Sirtuins (SIRTs) are a class of nicotine adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent proteins which regulate various biochemical pathways and participate in a wide range of major cellular processes, such as aging, apoptosis, inflammation, stress resistance, genomic stability and energy metabolism. Some findings also suggest that sirtuins family proteins may be potential markers of ovarian aging. The present review evaluates some activities of sirtuins, especially sirtuin1 and its possible association with woman's metabolism, ovarian aging and premature ovarian insufficiency. This discussion gives the novel insight into the etiology of idiopathic premature ovarian insufficiency and offers new research directions in the field (Fig. 1).