Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 12, 2025

A Sensitive Visual Method for the Detection of Hydrogen Sulfide Producing Bacteria
Published on: June 27, 2022
Hydrogen sulfide/polysulfides signaling and neuronal diseases
1Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Sanyo-Onoda City University, Yamaguchi, Japan.
None:
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and polysulfides including H2Sn (n = 2 or more) regulate neuronal activity, vascular tone, oxytosis/ferroptosis, oxygen sensing, cancer growth and senescence. Cystathionine β-synthase (CBS), cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) and 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3MST) produce H2S. Polysulfides are also produced by various enzymes including 3MST. In addition, transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) channel-an important polysulfide target-modulates sulfur metabolism (including cysteine, H2S and polysulfides) and also affects the neurotransmitter GABA. Polysulfides persulfidate the cysteine residues of the target proteins, causing conformational changes that alter their activity. By contrast, H2S persulfidates oxidized cysteine residues (e.g., S-nitrosylated- and S-sulfinated) in its targets. H2S/polysulfides protect neurons from oxidative stress and thereby protect cells against various forms of cell death including oxytosis and ferroptosis. A deviation from normal H2S and polysulfides levels has been suggested to play a role in the pathophysiology of various neuronal- and psychiatric diseases.
Related Concept Videos
Preparation and Reactions of Sulfides
Neural Regulation
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
Synaptic Signaling
Most synapses are chemical, meaning an electrical impulse or action potential spurs the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The neuron sending the signal is called the presynaptic neuron, and the neuron receiving the signal is the postsynaptic neuron.
The presynaptic neuron fires an action potential that...
Structure and Nomenclature of Thiols and Sulfides
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...

