4-Hydroxynonenal
4-Hydroxynonenal, or 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal or 4-HNE or HNE, (C9H16O2), is an α,β-unsaturated hydroxyalkenal that is produced by lipid peroxidation in cells. 4-HNE is the primary alpha,beta-unsaturated hydroxyalkenal formed in this process.
4-HNE has 3 reactive groups: an aldehyde, a double-bond at carbon 2, and a hydroxy group at carbon 4.
It is found throughout animal tissues, and in higher quantities during oxidative stress due to the increase in the lipid peroxidation chain reaction, due to the increase in stress events.
4-HNE has been hypothesized to play a key role in cell signal transduction, in a variety of pathways from cell cycle events to cellular adhesion.
History
The first characterization of 4-hydroxynonenal was reported by Esterbauer, et al. in 1991, and since then the amount of research involving this chemical has been steadily increasing, with entire issues of relatively high-impact journals such as Molecular Aspects of Medicine and Free Radical Biology and Medicine devoting volumes to 4-HNE-centered publications.
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