Menaquinone-4 is a member of the menaquinone family with four isoprene-derived units in its side chain. Its formula is . The numeral in the name describes the side chain, rather than four molecules of Vitamin K or a fourfold concentration.[ref]
In 2010, reducing UBIAD1 expression in human cells reduced formation of labelled menaquinone-4 from labelled vitamin-K derivatives. Expressing the candidate enzyme in insect cells supplied complementary evidence, and deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance identified the product.[ref]
The experiments address different parts of the proposed mechanism. A loss-of-function comparison tests whether a component is required in the original system; expression in another system tests whether it can support the conversion there. Chemical product identification links both results to the named compound. An increase in a generic vitamin-K signal would not establish the same specific biosynthetic claim.

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