title: Do Mammalian Cells Really Need to Export and Import Heme?
abstract: Heme is a cofactor that is essential to almost all forms of life. The production of heme is a balancing act between the generation of the requisite levels of the end-product and protection of the cell and/or organism against any toxic substrates, intermediates and, in this case, end-product. In this review, we provide an overview of our understanding of the formation and regulation of this metallocofactor and discuss new research on the cell biology of heme homeostasis, with a focus on putative transmembrane transporters now proposed to be important regulators of heme distribution. The main text is complemented by a discussion dedicated to the intricate chemistry and biochemistry of heme, which is often overlooked when new pathways of heme transport are conceived.
authors.affiliation: Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada; Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3G 1Y6, Canada. Electronic address: prem.ponka@mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Prem
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ponka
authors.affiliation: Spartan Bioscience Inc., Ottawa, ON, K2H 1B2, Canada; High Impact Editing, Ottawa, ON, K1B 3Y6, Canada.
authors.forename: Alex D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Sheftel
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Centre for Research in Molecular Modeling and PROTEO, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, H4B 1R, Canada.
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: English
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3A 0B8, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scott Bohle
authors.affiliation: Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada; Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3G 1Y6, Canada.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Garcia-Santos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D006418:Heme / Q000378:metabolism*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D006418:Heme