Glutaredoxin-1 Silencing Induces Cell Senescence via p53/p21/p16 Signaling Axis

Glutaredoxin-1 (Grx1) catalyzes deglutathionylation with glutathione as a cofactor. Accumulating evidence indicates important roles for Grx1 and S-glutathionylation in the aging process; however, further exploration of Grx1-regulated cellular processes is important to understand the functions of Grx1 in aging. In the present study, we constructed stable Grx1 knockdown or overexpression human cell lines. Grx1 silencing significantly decreased the cellular ratio of reduced glutathione (GSH) to oxidized glutathione (GSSG) (GSH/GSSG ratio), resulting in excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, whereas Grx1 overexpression decreased cellular ROS levels. Grx1 silencing also increased glutathionylation of DJ-1 and HSP60, contributing to decreased mitochondrial spare respiration capacity and ATP production. We applied quantitative proteomics to identify differentially expressed proteins between Grx1 knockdown and control cells and showed that Grx1 silencing inactivated DNA replication and damage repair pathways. p53 signaling was activated by Grx1 silencing, which inhibited the CDK4-mediated G1-S transition, resulting in G1 phase cell-cycle arrest and cell senescence, a known hallmark of aging. Taken together, our results indicate that Grx1 regulates DNA replication and damage repair processes and is a potential therapeutic target for aging-related diseases.