Nitric oxide and oxygen radical attack on GDP-dissociation inhibitor 2 (GDI-2) in spinal cord injury of the rat.

Protein oxidation and nitration have been described during spinal cord injury (SCI) in animal models. Herein, mass spectrometry unambiguously identified GDP-dissociation inhibitor-2 (GDI-2) in SCI with post-translational modifications of 3-aminotyrosine (8 h post-injury) and an acrolein adduct of GDI-2 (72 h post-injury). On the basis of mass spectrometry evidence, we conclude that lipid-peroxidation and protein nitration do take place on an important signalling protein that may be prevented by specific experimental therapeutic interventions.