Oxidative stress and Nrf2 signaling in McArdle disease

McArdle disease (MD) is a metabolic myopathy due to myophosphorylase deficiency, which leads to a severe limitation in the rate of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) resynthesis. Compensatory flux through the myoadenylate deaminase > > xanthine oxidase pathway should result in higher oxidative stress in skeletal muscle; however, oxidative stress and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) mediated antioxidant response cascade in MD patients have not yet been examined. We show that MD patients have elevated muscle protein carbonyls and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) in comparison with healthy, age and activity matched controls (P < 0.05). Nuclear abundance of Nrf2 and Nrf2-antioxidant response element (ARE) binding was also higher in MD patients compared with controls (P < 0.05). The expressions of Nrf2 target genes were also higher in MD patients vs. controls. These observations suggest that MD patients experience elevated levels of oxidative stress, and that the Nrf2-mediated antioxidant response cascade is up-regulated in skeletal muscle to compensate.