ADP-ribosylation of human defensin HNP-1 results in the replacement of the modified arginine with the noncoded amino acid ornithine.

Defensins (e.g., human neutrophil peptides, or HNPs) contribute to innate immunity through diverse actions, including microbial killing; high concentrations are present in the lung in response to inflammation. Arginines are critical for HNP activity, which is decreased by their replacement with ornithine. ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTs) catalyze transfer of ADP-ribose from NAD to an acceptor arginine in a protein substrate, whereas ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases release ADP-ribose. ART1 on the surface of airway epithelial cells ADP-ribosylated HNP-1 specifically on arginines 14 and 24, with ADP-ribosylation altering biological activity. Di- and mono-ADP-ribosylated HNP-1 were isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients with asthma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), suggesting a role for ADP-ribosylation in disease. In the present study, we observed that ART1-catalyzed ADP-ribosylation of HNP-1 in vitro generated a product with ADP-ribose on arginine 24, and ornithine replacing arginine at position 14. We hypothesized that ADP-ribosylarginine is susceptible to a nonenzymatic hydrolytic reaction yielding ornithine. On incubation of di- or mono-ADP-ribosyl-HNP-1 at 37 degrees C, ADP-ribosylarginine was partially replaced by ornithine, whereas ornithine was not detected by amino acid analysis and mass spectrometry of unmodified HNP-1 incubated under the same conditions. Further, ornithine was produced from the model compound, ADP-ribosylarginine. BALF from an IPF patient contained ADP-ribosyl-HNP-ornithine as well as mono- and di-ADP-ribosylated HNP-1, consistent with in vivo conversion of arginine to ornithine. Targeted ADP-ribosylation of specific arginines by transferases, resulting in their replacement with ornithine, is an alternative pathway for regulation of protein function through posttranslational modification.