title: Iron at the center of ferritin, metal/oxygen homeostasis and novel dietary strategies.
abstract: Bioiron - central to respiration, photosynthesis and DNA synthesis and complicated by radical chemistry with oxygen - depends on ferritin, the super family of protein nanocages (maxi-ferritins in humans, animals, plant, and bacteria, and mini-ferritins, also called DPS proteins, in bacteria) for iron and oxygen control. Regulation of ferritin synthesis, best studied in animals, uses DNA transcription and mRNA translation check points. Ferritin is a member of both the "oxidant stress response" gene family that includes thioredoxin reductase and quinine reductase, and a member of the iron responsive gene family that includes ferroportin and mt-aconitase ferritin DNA regulation responds preferentially to oxidant response inducers and ferritin mRNA to iron inducers: heme confers regulator synergy. Ferritin proteins manage iron and oxygen, with ferroxidase sites and iron + oxygen substrates to form mineral of both Fe and O atoms; maxi-ferritins contribute more to cellular iron metabolism and mini-ferritins to stress responses. Iron recovery from ferritin is controlled by gated protein pores, possibly contributing to iron absorption from ferritin, a significant dietary iron source. Ferritin gene regulation is a model for integrating DNA/mRNA controls, while ferritin protein function is central to molecular nutrition cellular metabolism at the crossroads of iron and oxygen in biology.
authors.affiliation: Center for BioIron at CHORI, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, USA.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hintze
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lonnerdal
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Theil
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D005293:Ferritins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D035925:Iron-Regulatory Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D035925:Iron-Regulatory Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D004247:DNA; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron; D010100:Oxygen