Carcinine has 4-hydroxynonenal scavenging property and neuroprotective effect in mouse retina

PURPOSE

Oxidative stress induces retinal damage and contributes to vision loss in progressive retinopathies. Carcinine (β-alanyl-histamine) is a natural imidazole-containing peptide derivative with antioxidant activity. It is predicted to scavenge 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), a toxic product of lipid oxidation. The aim of this study was to confirm the 4-HNE scavenging effect and evaluate the neuroprotective effect of carcinine in mouse retina subjected to oxidative stress.

METHODS

HPLC coupled with mass spectrometry was used to analyze carcinine and 4-HNE-carcinine adduct. Protection of retinal proteins from modification by 4-HNE was tested by incubating carcinine with retinal protein extract and 4-HNE. Modified retinal proteins were quantified by dot-blot analysis. Mice were treated with carcinine (intravitreal injection and gavage) and exposed to bright light to induce oxidative damage in the retina. Photoreceptor degeneration was measured by histology and electroretinography. Retinal levels of retinol dehydrogenase 12 (RDH12) were measured by immunoblot analysis, after exposure to bright light and in retinal explants after exposure to 4-HNE.

RESULTS

The ability of carcinine to form an adduct with 4-HNE, as well as to prevent and even reverse the adduction of retinal proteins by the toxic aldehyde was demonstrated in vitro. Carcinine, administered by intravitreal injection or gavage, strongly protected mouse retina against light-induced photoreceptor degeneration and had a protective effect on RHD12, a protein found specifically in photoreceptor cells.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that carcinine can be administered noninvasively to efficiently protect photoreceptor cells from oxidative damage. Carcinine could be administered daily to prevent vision loss in progressive retinopathies.

High levels of retinal docosahexaenoic acid do not protect photoreceptor degeneration in VPP transgenic mice

PURPOSE

To determine whether docosahexaenoic acid can protect against hereditary retinal degenerations in transgenic mice expressing the V20G, P23H, and P27L (VPP) rhodopsin mutations.

METHODS

Female transgenic mice expressing the VPP rhodopsin mutation, known to cause a retinal degeneration, were bred to male transgenic mice expressing the fat-1 gene, which can convert n6 to n3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Several weeks before breeding, the female mice were fed a standard diet containing 10% safflower oil (SFO), which is high in n6 and low in n3 PUFA (n6/n3=273). Offspring were genotyped and four groups identified: Fat1(+)/VPP(+), Fat1(-)/VPP(+), Fat1(+)/VPP(-), and Fat1(-)/VPP(-). Dams were maintained on the SFO diet during the nursing period and offspring were kept on the SFO diet after weaning. At 4, 16, and 28 weeks of age, retinal function was evaluated by electroretinography (ERG), photoreceptor cell loss was quantified by measuring outer nuclear layer thickness, and rhodopsin levels were determined. Fatty acid profiles were analyzed in whole retina, plasma, and liver at 4 and 28 weeks of age.

RESULTS

Expression of fat-1 in the absence of dietary n3 PUFA led to the generation of two groups of mice with distinctly different levels of n3 and n6 PUFA in the three tissues that were analyzed. Already at four weeks of age, the retinas of fat-1 positive animals had higher levels of n3 PUFA than their wild-type counterparts (23%-29% versus 6.4%-6.5%). In addition, by four weeks of age, there was a significant loss of rod photoreceptor cells in the VPP mice. Progression of retinal degeneration occurred with increasing age in VPP positive mice, with photoreceptor cell death occurring in both inferior and superior regions. Amplitudes of the a- and b-waves of the ERG were significantly reduced with age, with VPP positive mice showing the greatest change. Rhodopsin content was lower in the VPP transgenic mice. There were no significant differences in outer nuclear layer thickness or ERG amplitudes between Fat1(+)/VPP(+) and Fat1(-)/VPP(+), or between Fat1(+)/VPP(-)and Fat1(-)/VPP(-) mice at any of the three ages.

CONCLUSIONS

High levels of retinal docosahexaenoic acid do not protect mice expressing the VPP rhodopsin mutation from retinal degeneration.

Retinol dehydrogenase 12 detoxifies 4-hydroxynonenal in photoreceptor cells

Mutations of the photoreceptor retinol dehydrogenase 12 (RDH12) gene cause the early onset retinal dystrophy Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) by mechanisms not completely resolved. Determining the physiological role of RDH12 in photoreceptors is the focus of this study. Previous studies showed that RDH12, and the closely related retinol dehydrogenase RDH11, can enzymatically reduce toxic lipid peroxidation products such as 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), in vitro. To explore the significance of this activity, we investigated the ability of RDH11 and RDH12 to protect stably transfected HEK-293 cells against the toxicity of 4-HNE. Both enzymes protected against 4-HNE modification of proteins and 4-HNE-induced apoptosis in HEK-293 cells. In the retina, exposure to bright light induced lipid peroxidation, 4-HNE production, and 4-HNE modification of proteins in photoreceptor inner segments, where RDH11 and RDH12 are located. In mouse retina, RDH12-but not RDH11-protected against adduct formation, suggesting that 4-HNE is a physiological substrate of RDH12. RDH12-but not RDH11-also protected against light-induced apoptosis of photoreceptors. We conclude that in mouse retina RDH12 reduces 4-HNE to a nontoxic alcohol, protecting cellular macromolecules against oxidative modification and protecting photoreceptors from light-induced apoptosis. This activity is of particular significance to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of RDH12-induced LCA.

DHA does not protect ELOVL4 transgenic mice from retinal degeneration

PURPOSE

Dominant Stargardt macular dystrophy (STGD3) is caused by several different mutations in a gene named ELOVL4, which shares sequence homologies with a family of genes that encode proteins involved in the ELOngation of Very Long chain fatty acids. Studies have suggested that patients with STGD3 have aberrant metabolism of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n3), the major polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in retinal rod outer segment membranes. We tested the effect of DHA on the progression of retinal degeneration in transgenic mice that express one of the mutations identified in STGD3.

METHODS

Transgenic mice expressing mutant human ELOVL4 (TG2) were bred to mice expressing the fat-1 protein, which can convert n6 to n3 PUFA. Mice were maintained on an n3-deficient diet containing 10% safflower oil (SFO, enriched in n6 PUFA; n6/n3=273) so that four experimental groups were produced that differed only in levels of n3 PUFA and expression of the hELOVL4 transgene. These groups were identified by genotyping and named Fat1+/TG2+, Fat1(-)/TG2+, Fat1+/TG2(-), and Fat1(-)/TG2(-). All were continued on the SFO diet for 4 to 16 weeks such that those not expressing Fat1 would be deficient in n3 fatty acids. At both time points, animals were analyzed for retinal function by electroretinography (ERG), photoreceptor cell viability by outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness measurements, fatty acid profiles in several tissues, and rhodopsin levels.

RESULTS

Mice expressing the fat-1 transgene had significantly higher levels of n3 PUFA, primarily DHA, in retina, liver, and plasma lipids at 4 and 16 weeks of age. Retinal DHA levels in fat-1 mice were twice those of controls. By 16 weeks of age, mice expressing the mutant hELOVL4 transgene had a significantly greater loss of photoreceptor cells, reduced ERG amplitudes, and lower rhodopsin levels than control mice. There was no effect of retinal fatty acids on the rate of degeneration of retinas expressing the ELOVL4 transgene.

CONCLUSIONS

We found no evidence that high levels of DHA in retinal membranes protected photoreceptor cells expressing mutant ELOVL4 from retinal degeneration. We conclude that DHA is not beneficial for the treatment of retinal degeneration in this animal model of human STGD3 macular dystrophy.