title: Iron transport across cell membranes: molecular understanding of duodenal and placental iron uptake.
abstract: Iron is an essential element playing a vital role in many cellular processes. This requirement is complicated by the fact that environmental iron is invariably present as insoluble Fe(3+) leading to poor bioavailability and toxicity, since even low concentrations of iron catalyse the production of damaging reactive oxygen species. As a result organisms have evolved efficient uptake and transport systems to extract iron from their environment as well as ferritins that store iron in a non-toxic form. In higher organisms, the first membrane barrier encountered is the apical surface of the duodenal enterocyte, a specialized absorptive cell of the intestinal epithelium that undertakes vectorial transport of iron. Iron is initially solubilized by reduction and Fe(2+) is transported across the cell membrane by a carrier-mediated transport process. This is followed by intracellular transfer of iron to the basolateral enterocyte membrane with subsequent transfer and release of iron to transferrin in the portal blood. A second site of iron transport is at the placento-fetal barrier where similar principles operate. In this review we describe recently identified transmembrane transporters and associated accessory proteins responsible for iron transport at these two sites.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Royal Free & University College Medical School, University College London, RFC, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK. ksrai@rfc.ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: S K S
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Srai
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bomford
authors.forename: Harry J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: McArdle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D004386:Duodenum / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D007501:Iron