Inactivation of human DGAT2 by oxidative stress on cysteine residues

PLoS One. 2017 Jul 11;12(7):e0181076. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181076. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGATs) have a crucial role in the biosynthesis of triacylglycerol (TG), the major storage form of metabolic energy in eukaryotic organisms. Even though DGAT2, one of two distinct DGATs, has a vital role in TG biosynthesis, little is known about the regulation of DGAT2 activity. In this study, we examined the role of cysteine and its oxidation in the enzymatic activity of human DGAT2 in vitro. Human DGAT2 activity was considerably inhibited not only by thiol-modifying reagents (NEM and IA) but also by ROS-related chemicals (H2O2 and β-lapachone), while human DGAT1 and GPAT1 were little affected. Particularly, ROS-related chemicals concomitantly induced intermolecular disulfide crosslinking of human DGAT2. Both the oxidative inactivation and disulfide crosslinking were almost completely reversed by the treatment with DTT, a disulfide-reducing agent. These results clearly demonstrated the significant role of ROS-induced intermolecular crosslinking in the inactivation of human DGAT2 and also suggested DGAT2 as a redox-sensitive regulator in TG biosynthesis.

MeSH terms

  • Cysteine / metabolism*
  • Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Peroxide / pharmacology
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects
  • Oxidative Stress / physiology*
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / metabolism
  • Triglycerides / metabolism

Substances

  • Reactive Oxygen Species
  • Triglycerides
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • DGAT2 protein, human
  • Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase
  • Cysteine

Grants and funding

This research was supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Heath Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the ministry of Health & Welfare (HI14C2124), the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2016K1A1A8A01938649 & NRF-2015M3A9C7030128), and the KRIBB Research Initiative Programs. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.