Copper transport in mammalian cells: special care for a metal with special needs.
Copper plays an essential role in human physiology. It is required for respiration, radical defense, neuronal myelination, angiogenesis, and many other processes. Copper has distinct physicochemical properties that pose uncommon challenges for its transport across biological membranes. Only small amounts of copper are present in biological fluids, and essentially none of it exists in a free ion form. These properties and the low redox potential of copper dictate special structural and mechanistic features in copper transporters. This minireview discusses molecular mechanisms through which copper enters and exits human cells.
Kaplan
Jack H
JH
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA. kaplanj@uic.edu
Lutsenko
Svetlana
S
D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000502:physiology; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism*; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology
D005609:Free Radicals; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D003300:Copper