Quantitative Proteomics Analysis Expands the Roles of Lysine β-Hydroxybutyrylation Pathway in Response to Environmental β-Hydroxybutyrate

Lysine β-hydroxybutyrylation (Kbhb) is a newly identified protein posttranslational modification (PTM) derived from β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), a product of ketone body metabolism in liver. BHB could serve as an energy source and play a role in the suppression of oxidative stress. The plasma concentration of BHB could increase up to 20 mM during starvation and in pathological conditions. Despite the progress, how the cells derived from extrahepatic tissues respond to elevated environmental BHB remains largely unknown. Given that BHB can significantly drive Kbhb, we characterized the BHB-induced lysine β-hydroxybutyrylome and acetylome by quantitative proteomics. A total of 840 unique Kbhb sites on 429 proteins were identified, with 42 sites on 39 proteins increased by more than 50% in response to BHB. The results showed that the upregulated Kbhb induced by BHB was involved in aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, 2-oxocarboxylic acid metabolism, citrate cycle, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and pyruvate metabolism pathways. Moreover, some BHB-induced Kbhb substrates were significantly involved in diseases such as cancer. Taken together, we investigate the dynamics of lysine β-hydroxybutyrylome and acetylome induced by environmental BHB, which reveals the roles of Kbhb in regulating various biological processes and expands the biological functions of BHB.