Redox cycling in iron uptake, efflux, and trafficking.
Aerobic organisms are faced with a dilemma. Environmental iron is found primarily in the relatively inert Fe(III) form, whereas the more metabolically active ferrous form is a strong pro-oxidant. This conundrum is solved by the redox cycling of iron between Fe(III) and Fe(II) at every step in the iron metabolic pathway. As a transition metal ion, iron can be "metabolized" only by this redox cycling, which is catalyzed in aerobes by the coupled activities of ferric iron reductases (ferrireductases) and ferrous iron oxidases (ferroxidases).
Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 14214. Electronic address: camkos@buffalo.edu.
Daniel J
DJ
Kosman
D000332:Aerobiosis / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002570:Ceruloplasmin / Q000378:metabolism*; D038181:FMN Reductase / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D017136:Ion Transport / Q000502:physiology; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
D007501:Iron; D002570:Ceruloplasmin; D038181:FMN Reductase; C023903:ferric citrate iron reductase