Molecular control of vertebrate iron metabolism: mRNA-based regulatory circuits operated by iron, nitric oxide, and oxidative stress

摘要

As an essential nutrient and a potential toxin, iron poses an exquisite regulatory problem in biology and medicine. At the cellular level, the basic molecular framework for the regulation of iron uptake, storage, and utilization has been defined. Two cytoplasmic RNA-binding proteins, iron-regulatory protein-1 (IRP-1) and IRP-2, re- spond to changes in cellular iron availability and coordinate the expression of mRNAs that harbor IRP-binding sites, iron-responsive elements (IREs).