Inefficient muscle long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) combustion is associated with insulin resistance, but molecular links between mitochondrial fat catabolism and insulin action remain controversial. We hypothesized that plasma acylcarnitine profiling would identify distinct metabolite patterns reflective of muscle fat catabolism when comparing individuals bearing a missense G304A uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3 g/a) polymorphism to controls, because UCP3 is predominantly expressed in skeletal muscle and g/a individuals have reduced whole-body fat oxidation. MS analyses of 42 carnitine moieties in plasma samples from fasting type 2 diabetics (n = 44) and nondiabetics (n = 12) with or without the UCP3 g/a polymorphism (n = 28/genotype: 22 diabetic, 6 nondiabetic/genotype) were conducted. Contrary to our hypothesis, genotype had a negligible impact on plasma metabolite patterns. However, a comparison of nondiabetics vs. type 2 diabetics revealed a striking increase in the concentrations of fatty acylcarnitines reflective of incomplete LCFA beta-oxidation in the latter (i.e. summed C10- to C14-carnitine concentrations were approximately 300% of controls; P = 0.004). Across all volunteers (n = 56), acetylcarnitine rose and propionylcarnitine decreased with increasing hemoglobin A1c (r = 0.544, P < 0.0001; and r = -0.308, P < 0.05, respectively) and with increasing total plasma acylcarnitine concentration. In proof-of-concept studies, we made the novel observation that C12-C14 acylcarnitines significantly stimulated nuclear factor kappa-B activity (up to 200% of controls) in RAW264.7 cells. These results are consistent with the working hypothesis that inefficient tissue LCFA beta-oxidation, due in part to a relatively low tricarboxylic acid cycle capacity, increases tissue accumulation of acetyl-CoA and generates chain-shortened acylcarnitine molecules that activate proinflammatory pathways implicated in insulin resistance.

Mitochondria contribute to myocyte injury during ischemia. After 30 and 45 min of ischemia in the isolated perfused rabbit heart, subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SSM), located beneath the plasma membrane, sustain a decrease in oxidative phosphorylation through cytochrome oxidase. In contrast, oxidation through cytochrome oxidase in interfibrillar mitochondria (IFM), located between the myofibrils, remains unaffected. Cytochrome oxidase activity in the intact membrane requires an inner mitochondrial membrane lipid environment enriched in cardiolipin. During ischemia, the content of cardiolipin decreased only in SSM, whereas the content of other phospholipids was preserved. Ischemia did not alter the composition of the cardiolipin that remained in SSM. Cardiolipin content was preserved in IFM during ischemia. Thus cardiolipin is a relatively early target of ischemic mitochondrial damage, leading to loss of oxidative phosphorylation through cytochrome oxidase in SSM.

The modification of proteins by 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) and 4-oxo-2-nonenal (ONE) was investigated using mass spectroscopic approaches. Electrospray ionization MS analysis of HNE- and ONE-treated myoglobin and apomyoglobin revealed that the latter more "open" protein structure resulted in more extensive modification. Reductive methylation of Lys residues halved the extent of modification, implicating the importance of adduction of HNE and ONE to both His and Lys residues. HPLC-MS/MS analysis of tryptic and chymotryptic peptides of HNE- or ONE-adducted apomyoglobin was aided by the knowledge of structures previously elucidated through model reactions. In the case of HNE, the adducts detected were the HNE-His Michael adduct (on H24, H36, H64, and H113), its dehydrated form (on H36), and the HNE-Lys pyrrole adduct (on K16, K42, K45, K145, and K147). In the case of the more reactive ONE, the adducts detected were the ONE-His Michael adduct (on H24), the ONE-Lys pyrrolinone adduct (on K16 and K145), and the ONE-His-Lys pyrrole cross-link (linking K16 to H24 in the C(5) peptide). Although previous analyses of tryptic peptides yielded findings about the nature of His modification, the current chymotryptic peptide analysis produced the first structural characterization of Lys modification on intact proteins by HNE and ONE using mass spectrometry.