cis-aconitate

cis-aconitate (CAS No.: 585-84-2) is a tricarboxylic acid intermediate of the tricarboxylic acid cycle formed through the reversible dehydration of citric acid and subsequently rehydrated to isocitric acid by aconitase, representing a central metabolite in mitochondrial energy metabolism. As an endogenous metabolite, cis-aconitate plays a critical role in cellular bioenergetics and carbon flux, making it a valuable tool for investigating mitochondrial function, metabolic pathway regulation, and alterations in cancer and metabolic disease models. It is widely utilized as a metabolic tracer or reference compound in fluxomics and systems biology studies to elucidate network dynamics within the citric acid cycle. Additionally, cis-aconitate and related aconitate isomers have been reported to modulate biochemical pathways including inhibition of glutamate decarboxylase activity and suppression of IκB-α phosphorylation, implicating potential involvement in inflammatory signaling pathways such as NF-κB regulation, with observed bioactivity generally characterized in the nanomolar to micromolar range depending on assay conditions. In vitro and in vivo experimental applications often employ concentration ranges tailored to specific cell-based assays or animal models to study metabolic reprogramming, enzyme activity, and pathway interactions, supporting its use in mechanistic research and early-stage compound screening within biomedical and drug discovery contexts.