A chemoproteomic platform to quantitatively map targets of lipid-derived electrophiles

Cells produce electrophilic products with the potential to modify and affect the function of proteins. Chemoproteomic methods have provided a means to qualitatively inventory proteins targeted by endogenous electrophiles; however, ascertaining the potency and specificity of these reactions to identify the most sensitive sites in the proteome to electrophilic modification requires more quantitative methods. Here, we describe a competitive activity-based profiling method for quantifying the reactivity of electrophilic compounds against 1000+ cysteines in parallel in the human proteome. Using this approach, we identify a select set of proteins that constitute “hot spots” for modification by various lipid-derived electrophiles, including the oxidative stress product 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE). We show that one of these proteins, ZAK kinase, is labeled by HNE on a conserved, active site-proximal cysteine, resulting in enzyme inhibition to create a negative feedback mechanism that can suppress the activation of JNK pathways by oxidative stress.