Peroxynitrite increases the degradation of aconitase and other cellular proteins by proteasome.

We report that exposure of aconitase to moderate concentrations of peroxynitrite, 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1; a superoxide- and nitric oxide-liberating substance), or hydrogen peroxide, inhibits the enzyme and enhances susceptibility to proteolytic digestion by the isolated 20 S proteasome. Exposure to more severe levels of oxidative stress, from these same agents, causes further inhibition of the enzymatic activity of aconitase but actually decreases its proteolytic breakdown by proteasome. It should be noted that the superoxide and nitric oxide liberated by SIN-1 decomposition react to form a steady flux of peroxynitrite. S-Nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, a compound that liberates nitric oxide alone, causes only a small loss of aconitase activity (25% or less) and has no effect on the proteolytic susceptibility of the enzyme. Proteasome also seems to be the main protease in cell lysates that can degrade aconitase after it has been oxidatively modified by exposure to peroxynitrite, SIN-1, or hydrogen peroxide. Using cell lysates isolated from K562 cells treated for several days with an antisense oligodeoxynucleotide to the initiation codon region of the C2 subunit of proteasome (a treatment which diminishes proteasome activity by 50-60%), the enhanced degradation of moderately damaged aconitase was essentially abolished. Other model proteins as well as complex mixtures of proteins, such as cell lysates, also exhibit enhanced proteolytic susceptibility after moderate SIN-1 treatment. Therefore we conclude that peroxynitrite reacts readily with proteins and that mild modification by peroxynitrite results in selective recognition and degradation by proteasome.