Multiple domain interfaces mediate SARM1 autoinhibition

Axon degeneration is an active program of subcellular self-destruction that drives pathology in the injured and diseased nervous system. SARM1 is an inducible NAD⁺ hydrolase and the central executioner of axon loss. In healthy axons, the SARM1 NADase is autoinhibited. With injury or disease, this autoinhibition is relieved and SARM1 depletes NAD⁺, inducing a metabolic crisis and subsequent axon loss. Here we combine peptide screening, cryo-electron microscopy, and site-directed mutagenesis with analysis of axonal metabolomics and axon degeneration to define five domain interactions within and across SARM1 protomers that are required to maintain an inactive SARM1 octamer. These structural insights may enable the development of SARM1 inhibitors that stabilize this autoinhibited conformation and thereby block axon degeneration.