Modification of Akt2 by 4-hydroxynonenal inhibits insulin-dependent Akt signaling in HepG2 cells.

The production of reactive aldehydes such as 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) is a key component of the pathogenesis in a spectrum of hepatic diseases involving oxidative stress such as alcoholic liver disease (ALD). One consequence of ALD is increased insulin resistance in hepatocytes. To understand the effects of 4-HNE on insulin signaling in liver cells, we employed a model using hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2. Previously, we have demonstrated an increase in the level of Akt phosphorylation is mediated by 4-HNE inhibition of PTEN, a direct regulator of Akt. In this work, we evaluated the effects of 4-HNE on insulin-dependent stimulation of the Akt2 pathway. We demonstrate that 4-HNE selectively leads to phosphorylation of Akt2. Although Akt2 is phosphorylated following 4-HNE treatment, the level of downstream phosphorylation of Akt substrates such as GSK3β and MDM2 is significantly decreased. Pretreatment with 4-HNE prevented insulin-dependent Akt signaling and decreased intracellular Akt activity by 87%. Using biotin hydrazide capture, it was confirmed that 4-HNE treatment of cells resulted in carbonylation of Akt2, which was not observed in untreated control cells. Using a synthetic GSK3α/β peptide as a substrate, treatment of recombinant human myristoylated Akt2 (rAkt2) with 20 or 40 μM 4-HNE inhibited rAkt2 activity by 30 or 85%, respectively. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF) identified Michael addition adducts of 4-HNE with His196, His267, and Cys311 of rAkt2. Computation-based molecular modeling analysis of 4-HNE adducted to His196 and Cys311 of Akt2 suggests inhibition of GSK3β peptide binding by 4-HNE in the Akt2 substrate binding pocket. The inhibition of Akt by 4-HNE provides a novel mechanism for increased insulin resistance in ALD. These data provide a potential mechanism of dysregulation of Akt2 during events associated with sustained hepatocellular oxidative stress.