Fatty Acid Extension
Fatty Acid Extension - Related Videos
06:03
Quantification of Endothelial Fatty Acid Uptake using Fluorescent Fatty Acid Analogs
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2025
This protocol details an in vitro assay for measuring cellular lipid uptake in endothelial cells upon stimulation with BODIPY-C12 and BODIPY-C16 fluorescent analogs of long-chain and very long-chain saturated fatty acids. This method is efficient and adaptable to other cell types, offering a useful approach for studying lipid metabolism.
08:41
Identification of Fatty Acids in Bacillus cereus
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Cited by 8 •
2016
We propose a protocol to identify fatty acids without the need to purify them. It combines information on the retention times with the mass spectra of three types of fatty acid derivatives: fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), 4,4-dimethyl oxazoline derivatives (DMOX), and 3-pyridylcarbinyl esters (picolinyl).
07:44
Analysis of Fatty Acid Content and Composition in Microalgae
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Cited by 207 •
2013
A method for the determination of fatty acid content and composition in microalgae based on mechanical cell disruption, solvent based lipid extraction, transesterification, and quantification and identification of fatty acids using gas chromatography is described. A tripentadecanoin internal standard is used to compensate for the possible losses during extraction and incomplete transesterification.
02:53
Preparation of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs) from Bacterial Biomass
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2025
Source: Ginies, C., et al. Identification of Fatty Acids in Bacillus cereus. J. Vis. Exp. (2016)This video demonstrates the process of preparing fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) from bacterial samples by treating the biomass with an alkaline solution, followed by phase separation and solvent evaporation for downstream analysis.
09:38
Dietary Supplementation of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Caenorhabditis elegans
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Cited by 59 •
2013
Caenorhabditis elegans is a useful model to explore the functions of polyunsaturated fatty acids in development and physiology. This protocol describes an efficient method of supplementing the C. elegans diet with polyunsaturated fatty acids.
FAQs
The pathway uses a repeating four-step cycle: condensation of a fatty acyl substrate with malonyl-CoA, followed by reduction, dehydration, and a second reduction. Completing the cycle produces a longer acyl chain, and repeated rounds progressively extend it. This ordered sequence allows cells to build fatty acids with chain lengths suited to different lipid functions.
Malonyl-CoA provides the two-carbon contribution added during each extension cycle. Its condensation with the fatty acyl substrate initiates chain growth before the reduction, dehydration, and second reduction steps remodel the intermediate. Repeating this input establishes the incremental two-carbon pattern that produces longer fatty acyl chains rather than changing the chain in an unspecified manner.
The reduction, dehydration, and second reduction reactions convert the condensation intermediate through a defined sequence of chemical states. Reducing equivalents support the two reduction steps, while dehydration occurs between them. Together, these reactions complete one extension round and regenerate a product that can enter another cycle, allowing progressive chain lengthening.
In animals and many other organisms, fatty acid extension commonly occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum. This location connects chain lengthening with cellular lipid production in a membrane-associated setting. The pathway generates very-long-chain fatty acids, whose distinct physical and biological properties can influence membrane organization, energy storage, and signaling-related lipid functions.
Researchers can examine how the very-long-chain products of repeated extension contribute to lipid behavior. Because these fatty acids have distinct physical and biological properties, they may help explain differences in membrane organization and in lipids used for cellular communication. Studying the pathway therefore links chemical chain length with broader cellular structure and signaling.
Fatty acid extension provides a framework for investigating lipid metabolism across several cellular functions, including membrane organization, energy storage, and signaling. Its products can also be considered in the context of development and metabolic disease. Examining the pathway helps connect changes in fatty acyl chain production with biological outcomes rather than treating lipids as a uniform group.