Effects of 4-hydroxynonenal, a product of lipid peroxidation, on cell proliferation and ornithine decarboxylase activity.

4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) is one of the major breakdown products of cellular lipid peroxidation. Its effects on proliferation, ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity and DNA synthesis have been investigated in leukemic cell lines. The cells were incubated for 1 hour with different aldehyde concentrations, then washed and resuspended in medium with fresh foetal calf serum. HNE concentrations ranging from 10(-5) to 10(-6) M significantly inhibited ODC activity when induced by addition of fresh foetal calf serum both in K562 and HL-60 cells. 3H-Thymidine incorporation in K562 cells was also inhibited from 6 to 12 hours after the treatment. The same HNE concentrations did not inhibit ODC activity when added to cytosol, thus a direct action on the enzyme can be excluded. Moreover, HNE did not affect the half-life of ODC, so that a specific effect on ODC synthesis may be supposed. These data indicate a reduction of proliferative capacity of the cells and are consistent with the possibility that HNE, at concentrations close to those found in normal cells, plays a role in the control of cell proliferation.