Identification of 4-hydroxynonenal-modified retinal proteins induced by photooxidative stress prior to retinal degeneration

4-Hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) is a reactive aldehyde species generated endogenously from the nonenzymatic oxidation of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids under physiological conditions. We have reported that intense white light exposure increases 4-HNE-protein modification in the retina prior to the onset of photoreceptor cell apoptosis. To understand the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the retinal degeneration induced by photooxidative stress, we identified 4-HNE-modified retinal proteins using a proteomic approach. Albino rats were exposed to 5 k lx white fluorescent light for 3 h and retinas were removed 24 h later and pooled. By Western dot blot analysis, the total intensity of 4-HNE-modified proteins was increased 1.5-fold following the exposure compared to dim light controls. In two independent sets of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis/Western blots followed by peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF), nine proteins including voltage-dependent anion channel, enolase 1α, aldolase C, crystallins αA and βB3, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2/B1, albumin, and glutamine synthetase were identified. We observed that 4-HNE modifications of retinal proteins are specific to a particular set of proteins rather than random events on abundant proteins. By immunohistochemistry, localization of 3 identified proteins overlapped with immunoreactivity of 4-HNE-modified proteins in light-exposed retinas. Intense light exposure increases 4-HNE-protein modifications on specific retinal proteins in several functional categories including energy metabolism, glycolysis, chaperone, phototransduction, and RNA processing. Together with previous reports that 4-HNE modification changes protein activities, these results suggest a close association of 4-HNE-protein modifications with the initiation of light-induced retinal degeneration.