Exploring Post-translational Arginine Modification Using Chemically Synthesized Methylglyoxal Hydroimidazolones

The methylglyoxal-derived hydroimidazolones (MG-Hs, Figure 1A) comprise the most prevalent class of non-enzymatic, post-translational modifications of protein arginine residues found in nature. These adducts form spontaneously in the human body, and are also present at high levels in the human diet. Despite numerous lines of evidence suggesting that MG-H–arginine adducts play critical roles in both healthy and disease physiology in humans, detailed studies of these molecules have been hindered by a lack of general synthetic strategies for their preparation in chemically homogeneous form, and on scales sufficient to enable detailed biochemical and cellular investigations. To address this limitation, we have developed efficient, multi-gram-scale syntheses of all MG-H–amino acid monomers in 2–3 steps starting from inexpensive, readily available starting materials. Thus, MG-H derivatives were readily incorporated into oligopeptides site-specifically using standard solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). Access to synthetic MG-H-peptide adducts has enabled detailed biochemical investigations, which have revealed a series of novel and unexpected findings. First, one of the three MG-H isomers – MG-H3 – was found to possess potent, pH-dependent antioxidant properties in biochemical and cellular assays intended to replicate redox processes that occur in vivo. Computational and mechanistic studies suggest that MG-H3-containing constructs are capable of participating in mechanistically distinct H-atom-transfer and single-electron-transfer oxidation processes. Notably, the product of MG-H3 oxidation was unexpectedly observed to disassemble into the fully unmodified arginine residue and pyruvate in aqueous solution. We believe these observations to reflect meaningfully on the role(s) of MG-H–protein adducts in human physiology, and expect the synthetic reagents reported herein to enable investigations into non-enzymatic protein regulation at an unprecedented level of detail

Protection against methylglyoxal-derived AGEs by regulation of glyoxalase 1 prevents retinal neuroglial and vasodegenerative pathology.

Methylglyoxal (MG) is an important precursor for AGEs. Normally, MG is detoxified by the glyoxalase (GLO) enzyme system (including component enzymes GLO1 and GLO2). Enhanced glycolytic metabolism in many cells during diabetes may overpower detoxification capacity and lead to AGE-related pathology. Using a transgenic rat model that overexpresses GLO1, we investigated if this enzyme can inhibit retinal AGE formation and prevent key lesions of diabetic retinopathy. Transgenic rats were developed by overexpression of full length GLO1. Diabetes was induced in wild-type (WT) and GLO1 rats and the animals were killed after 12 or 24 weeks of hyperglycaemia. N (epsilon)-(Carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL), N (epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) and MG-derived-hydroimidazalone-1 (MG-H1) were determined by immunohistochemistry and by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MSMS). Muller glia dysfunction was determined by glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoreactivity and by spatial localisation of the potassium channel Kir4.1. Acellular capillaries were quantified in retinal flat mounts. GLO1 overexpression prevented CEL and MG-H1 accumulation in the diabetic retina when compared with WT diabetic counterparts (p <0.01). Diabetes-related increases in Muller glial GFAP levels and loss of Kir4.1 at the vascular end-feet were significantly prevented by GLO1 overexpression (p <0.05) at both 12- and 24-week time points. GLO1 diabetic animals showed fewer acellular capillaries than WT diabetic animals (p <0.001) at 24 weeks' diabetes. Detoxification of MG reduces AGE adduct accumulation, which, in turn, can prevent formation of key retinal neuroglial and vascular lesions as diabetes progresses. MG-derived AGEs play an important role in diabetic retinopath