Chemistry and Reactivity of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) in Model Biological Systems

Among many reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are constantly generated during oxidative stress in cellular membranes, the formation and subsequent reactivity of ubiquitous 4-hydroxy-2- nonenal (HNE) with nearby amino acids and lipids represent one of the main research targets in cell physiology in the last decades. Starting from the first synthesis of HNE in 1967, the chemistry and reactivity of HNE are constantly under intense scrutiny. This review shows recent advances in the field, which are discussed with the special emphasis on revealing intricate details of numerous reaction mechanisms of HNE with lipids and amino acids, with the goal of understanding the reactivity of HNE at the molecular level.