Molecular Mechanisms of Iron Uptake in Eukaryotes.
De Silva, Deepika M., Candice C. Askwith, and Jerry Kaplan.
Division of Immunology and Cell Biology, Department of Pathology,
University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah.
APStracts 2:0003P, 1996.
ABSTRACT
Iron serves essential functions in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and cells
have highly specialized mechanisms for acquiring and handling this metal. The
primary mechanism by which the concentration of iron in biologic systems is
controlled is through the regulation of iron uptake. Although the role of
transferrin in mammalian iron homeostasis has been well characterized, the
study of genetic disorders of iron metabolism has revealed other, transferrin-
independent, mechanisms by which cells can acquire iron. In an attempt to
understand how eukaryotic systems take up this essential element,
investigators have begun studying the simple eukaryote [i]Saccharomyces
cerevisiae[r]. Several genes have been identified and cloned that act in
concert to allow iron acquisition from the environment. Some of these genes
appear to have functional homologues in human systems. This review focuses on
the recent developments in understanding eukaryotic iron uptake with an
emphasis on the genetic and molecular characterization of these systems in
both cultured mammalian cells and [i]S. cerevisiae[r]. An unexpected
connection between iron and copper homeostasis has been revealed by recent
genetic studies, which confirms biologic observations made several decades
ago.
APS Manuscript Number P-18-5.
Article publication scheduled January 1996 Physiological Reviews.
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1996 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 22 January 96