Covalent binding of 15-deoxy-delta12,14-prostaglandin J2 to PPARgamma

Since 15-deoxy-delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J(2) (15dPGJ(2)) has been identified as an endogenous ligand of PPARgamma thus inducing adipogenesis, it has been reported to play active parts in numerous cellular regulatory mechanisms. As 15dPGJ(2) has been shown to covalently bind several peptides and proteins, we investigated whether it also covalently binds PPARgamma. We first observed that after incubation of 15dPGJ(2) with recombinant PPARgamma, the quantity of free 15dPGJ(2) measured was always lower than the initial amount. We then measured the ability of the labeled agonist rosiglitazone to displace the complex PPARgamma(2)/15dPGJ(2) obtained after pre-incubation. We observed that the binding of rosiglitazone was dependent on the initial concentration of 15dPGJ(2). Finally using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analysis, after trypsinolysis of an incubate of the PPARgamma(2) ligand binding domain (GST-LBD) with 15dPGJ2, we found a fragment (m/z = 1314.699) corresponding to the addition of 15dPGJ(2) (m/z = 316.203) to the GST-LBD peptide (m/z = 998.481). All these observations demonstrate the existence of a covalent binding of 15dPGJ(2) to PPARgamma, which opens up new perspectives to study the molecular basis for selective activities of PPARs.