Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Electrophiles

Electrophiles

This lesson explains the definition, classification, and characteristic features of an electrophile that are key features of nucleophilic substitution reactions. An analysis of their charge and orbital picture helps understand their reactivity for seeking electrons. Electrophiles can be classified into positive and neutral species. Other classes include free radicals and polar functional groups.
While a positive electrophile, like a proton, reacts due to its vacant, low-energy 1s orbital, the...

Drug-Receptor Bonds

Drug-Receptor Bonds

Drug-receptor bonds are formed through various chemical forces when drugs interact with target cells. Covalent bonds, strong and irreversible, are exemplified by DNA-alkylating anticancer agents that inhibit cell division. However, such irreversible drug binding lacks selectivity and can modify the DNA of the surrounding healthy cells. Covalent binding often contributes to tissue toxicity, as seen with chloroform and paracetamol metabolites binding to the liver, causing hepatotoxicity.
In...

Radical Formation: Homolysis

Radical Formation: Homolysis

A bond is formed between two atoms by sharing two electrons. When this bond is broken by supplying sufficient energy, either two electrons can be taken up by one atom forming ions by the cleavage called heterolysis, or the two electrons are shared by two atoms, with one each creating radicals by the cleavage called homolysis.

Acid-Catalyzed Hydration of Alkenes

Acid-Catalyzed Hydration of Alkenes

Alkenes react with water in the presence of an acid to form an alcohol. In the absence of acid, hydration of alkenes does not occur at a significant rate, and the acid is not consumed in the reaction. Therefore, alkene hydration is an acid-catalyzed reaction.

Acid-Catalyzed Dehydration of Alcohols to Alkenes

Acid-Catalyzed Dehydration of Alcohols to Alkenes

In a dehydration reaction, a hydroxyl group in an alcohol is eliminated along with the hydrogen from an adjacent carbon. Here, the products are an alkene and a molecule of water. Dehydration of alcohols is generally achieved by heating in the presence of an acid catalyst. While the dehydration of primary alcohols requires high temperatures and acid concentrations, secondary and tertiary alcohols can lose a water molecule under relatively mild conditions.

Cell Signaling in Plants

Cell Signaling in Plants

Plant cells communicate to coordinate their cycle of growth, flowering and fruiting, and activities in roots, shoots, and leaves in response to the changing environmental conditions. Plant signaling is distinct from animal signaling. Plants primarily utilize enzyme-linked receptors, whereas the largest class of cell-surface receptors in animals are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Unlike animals, receptor tyrosine kinases are rare in plants. Instead, plants have a diverse class of...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Culturing a discerning palette for spatiofunctional profiling.

Current opinion in chemical biology·2026

Same author

NCBP1 stress signaling drives alternative S6K1 splicing inhibiting translation.

Nature chemical biology·2026

Same author

Tools to Dissect Lipid Droplet Regulation, Players, and Mechanisms.

ACS chemical biology·2025

Same author

Organ-specific electrophile responsivity mapping in live C. elegans.

Cell·2024

Same author

Toward decoding spatiotemporal signaling activities of reactive immunometabolites with precision immuno-chemical biology tools.

Communications chemistry·2024

Same author

Let's get biophysical - How to get your favorite protein's digits.

Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Monitoring On-Target Signaling Responses in Larval Zebrafish - Z-REX Unmasks Precise Mechanisms of Electrophilic Drugs and Metabolites

Monitoring On-Target Signaling Responses in Larval Zebrafish - Z-REX Unmasks Precise Mechanisms of Electrophilic Drugs and Metabolites

Published on: June 2, 2023

Keeping Wavering Bonds: Deactivation-Induced Signaling by Reactive Electrophiles.

Marcus J C Long^1,2, Yaren Karakoç¹, Yimon Aye^1,3

¹Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K.

|May 12, 2026

Summary

The lipid metabolite 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) modifies the Cyp-33e1 enzyme, altering lipid storage in C. elegans. This discovery introduces a new signaling pathway termed "deactivation signaling".

More Related Videos

Evaluating Leaf Responses to Microbial Secondary Metabolites Using A High-Throughput Format

Evaluating Leaf Responses to Microbial Secondary Metabolites Using A High-Throughput Format

Published on: December 5, 2025

Pattern-Triggered Oxidative Burst and Seedling Growth Inhibition Assays in Arabidopsis thaliana

Pattern-Triggered Oxidative Burst and Seedling Growth Inhibition Assays in Arabidopsis thaliana

Published on: May 21, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 13, 2026

Monitoring On-Target Signaling Responses in Larval Zebrafish - Z-REX Unmasks Precise Mechanisms of Electrophilic Drugs and Metabolites

Monitoring On-Target Signaling Responses in Larval Zebrafish - Z-REX Unmasks Precise Mechanisms of Electrophilic Drugs and Metabolites

Published on: June 2, 2023

Evaluating Leaf Responses to Microbial Secondary Metabolites Using A High-Throughput Format

Evaluating Leaf Responses to Microbial Secondary Metabolites Using A High-Throughput Format

Published on: December 5, 2025

Pattern-Triggered Oxidative Burst and Seedling Growth Inhibition Assays in Arabidopsis thaliana

Pattern-Triggered Oxidative Burst and Seedling Growth Inhibition Assays in Arabidopsis thaliana

Published on: May 21, 2019

Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Background:

4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) is a lipid metabolite known for reacting with macromolecules.
HNE's reactivity stems from its α,β-unsaturated aldehyde system, leading to covalent modifications.
Cellular detoxification pathways typically convert HNE into less reactive compounds.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the interaction between HNE and detoxification enzymes.
To identify novel functions and signaling mechanisms of HNE.
To explore HNE's role in regulating lipid metabolism.

Main Methods:

Utilized a customized tissue-specific screen for HNE-sensor proteins in *Caenorhabditis elegans*.
Investigated the enzymatic activity of Cyp-33e1 on HNE.
Analyzed changes in lipid storage in response to HNE and its metabolites.

Main Results:

Discovered that HNE modifies the detoxification enzyme Cyp-33e1 in *C. elegans*.
Confirmed HNE as a substrate of Cyp-33e1, which oxidizes HNE to 4-hydroxynonenoic acid (HNA).
Demonstrated that HNE alters lipid storage in a Cyp-33e1-dependent manner, with HNA mediating this effect.

Conclusions:

Introduced a novel signaling mechanism termed "deactivation signaling", where a metabolite (HNA) derived from HNE detoxification regulates cellular processes.
Established that HNE's bioactivity can be mediated through its metabolites, expanding understanding beyond direct covalent modification.
Highlighted the importance of Cyp-33e1 in HNE detoxification and its role in regulating lipid homeostasis.