Formation of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-modified proteins in ischemic rat heart

4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) is a major lipid peroxidation product formed during oxidative stress. Because of its reactivity with nucleophilic compounds, particularly metabolites and proteins containing thiol groups, HNE is cytotoxic. The aim of this study was to assess the extent and time course for the formation of HNE-modified proteins during ischemia and ischemia plus reperfusion in isolated rat hearts. With an antibody to HNE-Cys/His/Lys and densitometry of Western blots, we quantified the amount of HNE-protein adduct in the heart. By taking biopsies from single hearts (n = 5) at various times (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 35, and 40 min) after onset of zero-flow global ischemia, we showed a progressive, time-dependent increase (which peaked after 30 min) in HNE-mediated modification of a discrete number of proteins. In studies with individual hearts (n = 4/group), control aerobic perfusion (70 min) resulted in a very low level (296 arbitrary units) of HNE-protein adduct formation; by contrast, after 30-min ischemia HNE-adduct content increased by >50-fold (15,356 units, P < 0.05). In other studies (n = 4/group), administration of N-(2-mercaptopropionyl)glycine (MPG, 1 mM) to the heart for 5 min immediately before 30-min ischemia reduced HNE-protein adduct formation during ischemia by approximately 75%. In studies (n = 4/group) that included reperfusion of hearts after 5, 10, 15, or 30 min of ischemia, there was no further increase in the extent of HNE-protein adduct formation over that seen with ischemia alone. Similarly, in experiments with MPG, reperfusion did not significantly influence the tissue content of HNE-protein adduct. Western immunoblot results were confirmed in studies using in situ immunofluorescent localization of HNE-protein in cryosections. In conclusion, ischemia causes a major increase in HNE-protein adduct that would be expected to reflect a toxic sequence of events that might act to compromise tissue survival during ischemia and recovery on reperfusion.