Human histone deacetylase SIRT2 interacts with the homeobox transcription factor HOXA10

Histone deacetylases are required for transcriptional repression in eukaryotes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has several histone deacetylases, of which ySir2p is the most conserved throughout evolution. Currently, there is no report on the interacting protein partner of a human Sir2 homolog, SIRT2. Here we show for the first time that SIRT2 interacts with the homeobox transcription factor, HOXA10, which was identified in a two-hybrid screen. Interactions were confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation from in vitro translations as well as in human cell-free extracts. Taken together with mouse knockout studies, our results raise the intriguing possibility that SIRT2 plays a role in mammalian development.