Absence of endogenous carnosine synthesis does not increase protein carbonylation and advanced lipoxidation end products in brain, kidney or muscle

Carnosine and other histidine-containing dipeptides are expected to be important anti-oxidants in vertebrates based on various in vitro and in vivo studies with exogenously administered carnosine or its precursor β-alanine. To examine a possible anti-oxidant role of endogenous carnosine, mice lacking carnosine synthase (Carns1(−/−)) had been generated and were examined further in the present study. Protein carbonylation increased significantly between old (18 months) and aged (24 months) mice in brain and kidney but this was independent of the Carns1 genotype. Lipoxidation end products were not increased in 18-month-old Carns1(−/−) mice compared to controls. We also found no evidence for compensatory increase of anti-oxidant enzymes in Carns1(−/−) mice. To explore the effect of carnosine deficiency in a mouse model known to suffer from increased oxidative stress, Carns1 also was deleted in the type II diabetes model Lepr(db/db) mouse. In line with previous studies, malondialdehyde adducts were elevated in Lepr(db/db) mouse kidney, but there was no further increase by additional deficiency in Carns1. Furthermore, Lepr(db/db) mice lacking Carns1 were indistinguishable from conventional Lepr(db/db) mice with respect to fasting blood glucose and insulin levels. Taken together, Carns1 deficiency appears not to reinforce oxidative stress in old mice and there was no evidence for a compensatory upregulation of anti-oxidant enzymes. We conclude that the significance of the anti-oxidant activity of endogenously synthesized HCDs is limited in mice, suggesting that other functions of HCDs play a more important role. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00726-022-03150-8.