Metabolic fate of 4-hydroxynonenal in hepatocytes: 1,4-dihydroxynonene is not the main product.

4-Hydroxynonenal (HNE) is a major aldehydic product of lipid peroxidation known to exert several biological and cytotoxic effects. The metabolic fate of this aldehyde was investigated in hepatocytes as a cell type with a rapid HNE degradation. The experiments were carried out in rat hepatocytes at 37 degrees C at initial HNE concentrations of 1 microM-that means in the range of physiological and pathophysiologically relevant HNE levels-, 5 microM or 100 microM, respectively. About 95% of 100 microM HNE was degraded within 3 min of incubation. At 1 microM HNE the physiological level of about 0.1 to 0.2 microM was restored already after 30 sec. As primary products of HNE in hepatocytes the glutathione-HNE- 1:1-adduct, the hydroxynonenoic acid and the corresponding alcohol of HNE, the 1,4-dihydroxynon-2-ene, were identified. In contrast to previous reports, the corresponding alcohol of the HNE, 1,4-dihydroxynon-2-ene, was not the main HNE metabolite by far. The sum of these three primary HNE products accounts for about two-thirds of the total HNE degradation after 3 min of incubation. Furthermore, the beta-oxidation of hydroxynonenoic acid including the formation of water was demonstrated. The quantitative share of HNE binding to proteins, contrary to its great functional importance, is low with about 3% of total HNE consumption after 3 min incubation. The glycine-cysteine-HNE, cysteine-HNE adducts, and the mercapturic acid from glutathione-HNE adduct are not formed. In total, almost 90% of HNE degradation could be balanced by the formation of different HNE metabolites. The fast metabolism underlines the role of HNE degrading pathways in hepatocytes as one important part of the antioxidative defense system in order to protect proteins from modification by aldehydic lipid peroxidation products.