Inactivation of Bcl-2 through IκB kinase (IKK)-dependent phosphorylation mediates apoptosis upon exposure to 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE).

Apoptosis of macrophage foam cells loaded with modified/oxidized lipids is implicated in destabilization of advanced atherosclerotic plaques in humans. Concentration of HNE, main aldehydic product of plasma LDL peroxidation, elevates in atherosclerotic lesions as well as in cultured cells under oxidative stress. Although this reactive aldehyde has been shown to promote apoptosis with the involvement of p38 MAPK and JNK in various mammalian cell lines, roles of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family proteins remain to be deciphered. We demonstrated that HNE-induced apoptosis was accompanied by concurrent downregulations of antiapoptotic Bcl-x(L) and Mcl-1 as well as upregulation of proapoptotic Bak. Furthermore, phoshorylation of Bcl-2 at Thr56, Ser70, and probably more phosphorylation sites located on N-terminal loop domain associated with HNE-induced apoptosis in both U937 and HeLa cells while ectopic expression of a phospho-defective Bcl-2 mutant significantly attenuated apoptosis. In parallel to this, HNE treatment caused release of proapoptotic Bax from Bcl-2. Pharmacological inhbition of IKK inhibited HNE-induced Bcl-2 phosphorylation. Similarly, silencing IKKα and -β both ended up with abrogation of Bcl-2 phosphorylation along with attenuation of apoptosis. Moreover, both IKKα and -β coimmunoprecipitated with Bcl-2 and in vitro kinase assay proved the ability of IKK to phosphorylate Bcl-2. In view of these findings and considering HNE inhibits DNA-binding activity of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) through prevention of IκB phosphorylation/ubiquitination/proteolysis, IKK appears to directly interfere with Bcl-2 activity through phosphorylation in HNE-mediated apoptosis independent of NF-κB signaling.