The cyclopentenone product of lipid peroxidation, 15-A2t-isoprostane, is efficiently metabolized by HepG2 cells via conjugation with glutathione.

Cyclopentenone isoprostanes (IsoPs), A(2)/J(2)-IsoPs, are one class of IsoPs formed via the free radical-initiated peroxidation of arachidonic acid. These compounds, which are structurally similar to cyclooxygenase-derived PGA(2) and PGJ(2), contain highly reactive alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl moieties. A(2)/J(2)-IsoPs are generated in vivo in humans esterified in glycerophospholipids. Unlike other classes of IsoPs, however, cyclopentenone IsoPs cannot be detected in the free form; we postulated that this might be due to their rapid adduction to various thiol-containing biomolecules via Michael addition. Recently, we reported that the A-ring IsoP, 15-A(2t)-IsoP, is efficiently conjugated with glutathione in vitro by certain human and rat glutathione transferases (GSTs), with the isozyme GSTA4-4 displaying the highest activity. Herein, we examined the metabolic disposition of 15-A(2t)-IsoP in HepG2 cells. We report that 15-A(2t)-IsoP is primarily metabolized by these cells via conjugation to glutathione. Within 6 h, approximately 60% of 15-A(2t)-IsoP added to HepG2 cells was present in the form of a water soluble conjugate(s). Structural characterization of the adduct(s) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry revealed four major conjugates. These include the intact 15-A(2t)-IsoP-GSH conjugate, the GSH conjugate in which the carbonyl at C-9 of 15-A(2t)-IsoP is reduced, and the corresponding cysteine conjugates. These studies thus show that the primary pathway of metabolic disposition of endogenously derived cyclopentenone IsoPs occurs via conjugation with thiols.