Heme, or haem, is a precursor to hemoglobin, which is necessary to bind oxygen in the bloodstream. Heme is biosynthesized in both the bone marrow and the liver.
Iron deficiency, or sideropenia, is the state in which a body lacks enough iron to supply its needs. Iron is present in all cells in the human body and has several vital functions, such as carrying oxygen to the tissues from the lungs as a key component of the hemoglobin protein, acting as a transport medium for electrons within the cells in the form of cytochromes, and facilitating oxygen enzyme reactions in various tissues. Too little iron can interfere with these vital functions and lead to morbidity and death.
Metalloprotein is a generic term for a protein that contains a metal ion cofactor. A large proportion of all proteins are part of this category. For instance, at least 1000 human proteins contain zinc-binding protein domains although there may be up to 3000 human zinc metalloproteins.
Ferritin is a universal intracellular protein that stores iron and releases it in a controlled fashion. The protein is produced by almost all living organisms, including archaea, bacteria, algae, higher plants, and animals. It is the primary intracellular iron-storage protein in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, keeping iron in a soluble and non-toxic form. In humans, it acts as a buffer against iron deficiency and iron overload.
Transferrins are glycoproteins found in vertebrates which bind and consequently mediate the transport of iron (Fe) through blood plasma. They are produced in the liver and contain binding sites for two Fe3+ ions. Human transferrin is encoded by the TF gene and produced as a 76 kDa glycoprotein.
A cofactor is a non-protein chemical compound or metallic ion that is required for an enzyme's role as a catalyst. Cofactors can be considered "helper molecules" that assist in biochemical transformations. The rates at which these happen are characterized in an area of study called enzyme kinetics. Cofactors typically differ from ligands in that they often derive their function by remaining bound.
Bioinorganic chemistry is a field that examines the role of metals in biology. Bioinorganic chemistry includes the study of both natural phenomena such as the behavior of metalloproteins as well as artificially introduced metals, including those that are non-essential, in medicine and toxicology. Many biological processes such as respiration depend upon molecules that fall within the realm of inorganic chemistry. The discipline also includes the study of inorganic models or mimics that imitate the behaviour of metalloproteins.
Human iron metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that maintain human homeostasis of iron at the systemic and cellular level. Iron is both necessary to the body and potentially toxic. Controlling iron levels in the body is a critically important part of many aspects of human health and disease. Hematologists have been especially interested in systemic iron metabolism, because iron is essential for red blood cells, where most of the human body's iron is contained. Understanding iron metabolism is also important for understanding diseases of iron overload, such as hereditary hemochromatosis, and iron deficiency, such as iron-deficiency anemia.
Phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate is one of the seven phosphoinositides found in eukaryotic cell membranes. In quiescent cells, the PtdIns(3,5)P2 levels, typically quantified by HPLC, are the lowest amongst the constitutively present phosphoinositides. They are approximately 3 to 5-fold lower as compared to PtdIns3P and PtdIns5P levels, and more than 100-fold lower than the abundant PtdIns4P and PtdIns(4,5)P2. PtdIns(3,5)P2 was first reported to occur in mouse fibroblasts and budding yeast S. cerevisiae in 1997. In S. cerevisiae PtdIns(3,5)P2 levels increase dramatically during hyperosmotic shock. The response to hyperosmotic challenge is not conserved in most tested mammalian cells except for differentiated 3T3L1 adipocytes.
Gastric hydrogen potassium ATPase, also known as H+/K+ ATPase, is an enzyme which functions to acidify the stomach. It is a member of the P-type ATPases, also known as E1-E2 ATPases due to its two states.
Ferroxidase also known as Fe(II):oxygen oxidoreductase is an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidization of iron II to iron III:
In molecular biology, the iron response element or iron-responsive element (IRE) is a short conserved stem-loop which is bound by iron response proteins. The IRE is found in UTRs of various mRNAs whose products are involved in iron metabolism. For example, the mRNA of ferritin contains one IRE in its 5' UTR. When iron concentration is low, IRPs bind the IRE in the ferritin mRNA and cause reduced translation rates. In contrast, binding to multiple IREs in the 3' UTR of the transferrin receptor leads to increased mRNA stability.
The iron-responsive element-binding proteins, also known as IRE-BP, IRBP, IRP and IFR , bind to iron-responsive elements (IREs) in the regulation of human iron metabolism.
Iron is an important biological element. It is used in both the ubiquitous iron-sulfur proteins and in vertebrates it is used in hemoglobin which is essential for blood and oxygen transport.
Methionine aminopeptidase 2 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the METAP2 gene.
Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein D0 (HNRNPD) also known as AU-rich element RNA-binding protein 1 (AUF1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HNRNPD gene. Alternative splicing of this gene results in four transcript variants.
Glutamate ionotropic receptor kainate type subunit 2, also known as ionotropic glutamate receptor 6 or GluR6, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GRIK2 gene.
RNA-binding protein FUS/TLS, also known as heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein P2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FUS gene.
Mitochondrial ferritin is a ferroxidase enzyme that in humans is encoded by the FTMT gene.
DNA-binding proteins from starved cells (DPS) are bacterial proteins that belong to the ferritin superfamily and are characterized by strong similarities but also distinctive differences with respect to "canonical" ferritins.
