title: The unusual co-assembly of H- and M-chains in the ferritin molecule from the Antarctic teleosts Trematomus bernacchii and Trematomus newnesi.
abstract: Ferritins from the liver and spleen of the cold-adapted Antarctic teleosts Trematomus bernacchii and Trematomus newnesi have been isolated and characterized. Interestingly, only H- and M-chains are expressed and no L-chains. The H-chains contain the conserved ferroxidase center residues while M-chains harbor both the ferroxidase center and the micelle nucleation site ligands. Ferritins have an organ-specific subunit composition, they are: M homopolymers in spleen and H/M heteropolymers in liver. The M-chain homopolymer mineralizes iron at higher rate with respect to the H/M heteropolymer, which however is endowed with a lower activation energy for the iron incorporation process, indicative of a higher local flexibility. These findings and available literature data on ferritin expression in fish point to the role of tissue-specific expression of different chains in modulating the iron oxidation/mineralization process.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche A. Rossi Fanelli, Sapienza, Università di Roma, P.le A. Moro, 5, 00185 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giorgi
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mignogna
authors.forename: Giuliano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bellapadrona
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gattoni
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chiaraluce
authors.forename: Valerio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Consalvi
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chiancone
authors.forename: Simonetta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stefanini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005293:Ferritins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry; D008024:Ligands; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D010473:Perciformes; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013045:Species Specificity; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D010455:Peptides; D011108:Polymers; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron