Adductome-based identification of biomarkers for lipid peroxidation

Lipid peroxidation is an endogenous source of aldehydes that gives rise to covalent modification of proteins in various pathophysiological states. In this study, a strategy for the comprehensive detection and comparison of adducts was applied to find a biomarker for lipid peroxidation-modified proteins in vivo. This adductome approach utilized liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) methods designed to detect the specific product ions from positively ionized adducts in a selected reaction monitoring mode. Using this procedure, we comprehensively analyzed lysine and histidine adducts generated in the in vitro oxidized low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and observed a prominent increase in several adducts, including a major lysine adduct. Based on the high resolution ESI-MS of the adduct and on the LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis of the synthetic adduct candidates, the major lysine adduct detected in the oxidized LDL was identified as Nε-(8-carboxyoctanyl)lysine (COL). Strikingly, a significantly higher amount of COL was detected in the sera from atherosclerosis-prone mice and from patients with hyperlipidemia compared with the controls. These data not only offer structural insights into protein modification by lipid peroxidation products but also provide a platform for the discovery of biomarkers for human diseases.