Prenols
Prenols are lipids synthesized from five-carbon isoprene units and are found in many natural products in eukaryotes, archaea, and bacteria. Prenols composed of more than four isoprene units are referred to as polyprenols. Dolichol is a polyprenol of particular importance and has been shown to function as a sugar carrier during the biosynthesis of glycoproteins in human tissues. Other well-studied polyprenol derivatives include coenzyme Q (CoQ). CoQ is well known to play a key role in the oxidative phosphorylation process in mitochondria. This process converts energy from carbohydrates and fatty acids into ATP. Studies also indicate that CoQ can undergo reduction/oxidation reactions in other cell membranes such as lysosomes. Lysosomal CoQ uses these reduction/oxidation reactions to transfer electrons across the membrane and form a proton gradient. These polyprenol derivatives have also been studied in cell signaling, gene expression, cell growth, apoptotic inhibition, and membrane channel control.
Hiroshi Sagami, Ewa Swiezewska & Yoshihiro Shidoji (2018) The history and recent advances in research of polyprenol and its derivatives, Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 82:6, 947-955, DOI: 10.1080/09168451.2017.1411775
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Eisenberg-Bord, M., H. S. Tsui, D. Antunes, L. Fernández-del-Río, M. C. Bradley, C. D. Dunn, T. P. T. Nguyen, D. Rapaport, C. F. Clarke, and M. Schuldiner. 2019. The endoplasmic reticulum mitochondria encounter structure complex coordinates coenzyme Q biosynthesis. Contact (Thousand Oaks). 2: 2515256418825409.
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