Figure 4.

Model of coordinated cellular effects in response to electrophilic protein modification. The overall cellular effects of an electrophile are dependent on the susceptibility of different target proteins to be modified by that electrophile. With low levels of electrophile exposure, post-translational modification of the most sensitive target will elicit a cellular response “A.” With moderate electrophile exposure, modification of (an) additional target(s) will result in cellular response “B.” Since response A is still present in this example, the combination of responses A and B cause a coordinated change in cell function by the same electrophilic mediator. With relatively high electrophile exposure, modification of a less sensitive target protein will elicit a new cellular response “C.” Since response A remains and response B is downregulated, the coordinated change in cell function is distinct from that observed at moderate electrophile doses.