小鼠模型在铁代谢研究中的应用

铁代谢在维持生命活动中至关重要,机体铁代谢紊乱会导致贫血和人类遗传性血色病等诸多疾病,对人体健康造成危害。在铁代谢研究领域,小鼠模型具有人群及细胞模型所不具备的优势,可以最准确的表现相应基因及通路在铁代谢调控中的生理作用。利用基因敲除及转基因小鼠模型,许多铁代谢相关的基因及调控通路被发现,有助于深入了解铁稳态调控的分子机制。这些小鼠模型为治疗铁代谢紊乱相关疾病潜在药物的开发和评估提供了理想的平台。     

血色病的临床与基础研究进展

遗传性血色病（Hereditary Hemochromatosis,HH）是一种西方常见的遗传性铁过载性疾病。目前已知的血色病基因主要包括剧硒、YfR2、HJV、FPN及HAMP。这些基因突变导致大量铁离子逐渐沉积在肝、心、胰腺等脏器的实质细胞,造成组织纤维化和结构改变,最终引起器官功能障碍和衰竭,常见症状有肝硬化、肝癌、糖尿病、心力衰竭、垂体及性腺功能减退、关节疾病和皮肤色素沉着等。当前,机体铁代谢分子机制研究的飞速发展,为深入了解血色病带来了契机。综合铁代谢研究领域最新进展,着重对血色病发展历程、发病机制、临床表现、诊断、治疗及中国血色病现状等方面展开综述。     

膜铁转运蛋白1，铁调素的靶分子？

膜铁转运蛋白1是重要的跨膜铁输出分子,主要分布于十二指肠和单核巨噬系统的细胞膜上,参与机体的肠铁吸收和巨噬细胞对铁的再循环等过程。铁调素是调节机体铁代谢平衡的激素,机体通过肝脏分泌的铁调素对铁转运相关蛋白的表达进行调控,从而实现机体自身的铁稳态。最新研究显示,铁调素的靶分子可能是膜铁转运蛋白1,它通过直接的作用引起膜铁转运蛋白1的内化(internalization)、降解,从而调节其在细胞膜上的表达量,进而控制肠铁吸收和巨噬细胞对铁的再循环过程,以维持机体的铁稳态。     

铁代谢与蛋白质泛素化．降解调控研究进展

铁元素为几乎所有的生命体所必需,维持铁代谢稳态对机体的正常功能至关重要。铁代谢紊乱与人类多种疾病的发生和发展有关。已知铁代谢稳态受到一系列参与铁代谢环节的关键蛋白质,如IRP2等的精确调节。这些重要蛋白质的稳定性、生理活性的动态变化及其协调作用是细胞维持铁代谢平衡的分子基础。除了转录和转录后水平的调控,泛素化等翻译后修饰方式和蛋白质降解是细胞精确调控参与铁代谢的蛋白质的水平及功能普遍而有效的方式之一;同时,细胞的铁代谢状态也影响细胞内参与泛素化等翻译后修饰途径的酶类的活性和稳定性,从而在铁代谢和蛋白质修饰．降解途径之间形成反馈机制,实时和动态地完成对细胞内铁代谢水平的精确调控。就相关领域的最新进展作简要综述。     

铁代谢紊乱和其它致病因素介导的肝氧化损伤及抗氧化保护策略研究进展

铁是人体所必需的微量元素,独特的化学活性使其成为血红蛋白和多种酶类的重要组成部分,同时,铁也可以催化产生各种自由基分子。作为铁的主要储存器官,肝脏在维持机体铁稳态中起着中心枢纽作用。当肝脏发生铁调节紊乱或者受到各种肝脏致病因素(丙型肝炎病毒、乙型肝炎病毒和酒精)侵袭时,都会造成自由基分子的过量生成。若机体的抗氧化防御系统不能将这些自由基及时清除,将会导致氧化应激损伤介导的肝损伤。目前的研究表明,针对肝脏疾病患者进行去铁及抗氧化治疗是一种有效的治疗模式。因此,研究肝脏铁代谢及各种肝脏疾病致病因素引起的氧化应激具有重要的理论和临床意义。     

铁与2型糖尿病发病的最新进展

糖尿病对人类健康的威胁日益加重,近年来大量的实验、临床及流行病学资料显示体内铁过载与糖尿病发生存在密切关联。作为机体必需的营养元素,铁在机体组织中的稳态平衡对维持正常的生理功能至关重要。同时铁还是一种极强的促氧化剂,机体铁含量升高往往导致氧化压力增强,进而加大罹患2型糖尿病的风险;膳食中血红素铁摄入量增加以及机体铁代谢紊乱都可能导致2型糖尿病及其并发症发生。此外,其他胰岛素抵抗疾病如代谢综合征、妊娠糖尿病以及多囊卵巢综合征都与铁过载呈显著关联,过量铁是诱发这些疾病的主要原因,并直接导致胰岛素抵抗。治疗中可通过铁螯合剂的使用来有效降低机体铁水平,并改善胰岛素抵抗。这些研究成果为2型糖尿病的干预治疗提供了新思路。对铁代谢与2型糖尿病及其并发症的最新研究做简要综述。     

铁过载引起的疾病：一种“沉默”的疾病

铁是人体生命必需的微量元素,但摄入过多也会对身体健康造成危害。在广大公众心目中．往往只认识到铁提供给人体营养价值的一面,而忽视了铁过量的潜在危害。铁过量会影响心脏、肝脏、内分泌系统和其他器官的正常功能。介绍了血色病、神经退行性疾病、癌症等与铁过载有关的疾病,以期引起人们对铁代谢的全面认识。     

FBXL5:一种维持细胞内铁稳态的泛素连接酶

细胞内铁稳态的维持主要通过铁调节蛋白(ironregulatory protein,IRP)与几种铁代谢基因如转铁蛋白受体和铁蛋白mRNA上铁应答元件结合来实现。铁不足可增加IRP2活性和含量,而铁过载则诱导了IRP2的泛素化和蛋白降解。F-盒蛋白FBXL5是一种铁和氧依赖的E3泛素连接酶,在铁和氧存在的情况下催化IRP2的泛素化,而缺铁或缺氧则造成FBXL5自身被泛素化修饰和随后的蛋白酶体降解。FBXL5铁调节功能的发现使人们对细胞内铁稳态的理解更为清晰。     

铁代谢与铁调素hepcidin

铁是机体必需的营养元素。然而,铁过载则导致细胞的损伤。由于生物体缺少排泄铁的机制,因而,肠铁吸收的调控便成为维持机体铁稳态的关键。新近研究发现hepcidin对机体铁稳态的调节起着至关重要的作用,被人们称为铁调节激素。Hepcidin主要在肝细胞中合成,之后分泌至血液将体内铁需要的信号传至小肠,调控肠铁的吸收。这一过程主要通过调节小肠铁转运相关蛋白的表达而实现。任何影响hepcidin表达的因素都可能破坏体内的铁平衡,造成铁代谢相关疾病。     

哺乳动物低氧应激代谢成因的研究进展

氧气是哺乳动物机体代谢稳态维持的物质基础,若代谢过程中氧气供给不足,可造成低氧应激。目前,环境低氧、代谢性低氧和携氧细胞功能障碍是造成动物低氧应激的重要成因。目前,低氧对动物机体代谢和组织功能的影响研究主要集中于肺脏、肝脏、消化道、肌肉和乳腺等部位。若处于低氧状态的哺乳动物形成了适应低氧的代谢模式,则可维持其代谢稳态;相反,若动物无法维持低氧状态下的代谢稳态,则会导致机体氧化应激甚至病变。目前,低氧应激在家畜方面的研究主要集中于高原动物代谢适应机制;然而,泌乳期动物机体代谢速率、氧气消耗和自由基水平均较高,但氧在泌乳动物代谢应激形成中的作用及其对泌乳性能的影响,仍有待探索。综述了哺乳动物产生低氧应激的代谢成因与作用结果,旨在探讨哺乳动物低氧应激生物学基础,为进一步从低氧应激调控角度为泌乳动物的健康状况维持提供理论依据。     

4-hydroxy-2-nonylquinoline: a novel iron chelator isolated from a bacterial cell membrane

The membrane associated iron chelator of Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been extracted from membranes of iron-rich cells with ethanol and purified by reverse phase HPLC. Using 13C NMR and FAB mass spectroscopy, the structure of the chelator has been determined to be 4-hydroxy-2-nonylquinoline. This compound has been previously isolated and named pseudan IX, a name which we use here. We synthesized pseudan IX and show that the spectral properties of the synthesized compound and the purified compound are nearly identical. Also purified from the ethanol extract of membranes is 4-hydroxy-2-heptylquinoline, i.e., pseudan VII. Bacterially purified pseudan IX binds iron as indicated by the incorporation of radiolabeled iron into the chelator and by the formation of pink micelles in a concentrated ethanol extract. The formation of pink micelles upon addition of iron to the synthesized compound indicates that it binds iron.     

Effect of tannic acid on iron absorption in straw‐colored fruit bats (Eidolon helvum)

Excessive absorption and subsequent storage of dietary iron has been found in a variety of captively held birds and mammals, including fruit bats. It is thought that feeding a diet that is low in iron can prevent the onset of this disease; however, manufacturing a diet with commonly available foodstuffs that contains a sufficiently low iron concentration is difficult. An alternative is to feed captive animals that may be susceptible to this disease potential iron chelators such as tannins that may bind to iron and block its absorption. Using stable isotope methods established in humans, we measured iron bioavailability in straw‐colored fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) and tested whether tannic acid significantly reduced the extent of iron absorption. Regardless of dose, tannic acid significantly reduced iron absorption (by 40%) and in the absence of tannic acid, iron absorption was extensive in this species (up to 30%), more so than in humans. Species susceptible to iron storage disease may efficiently absorb iron in the gut regardless of iron status, and supplementing these species with tannic acid in captivity may provide an alternative or additional means of preventing the development of this disease. Zoo Biol 29:335–343, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The role of iron metabolism in cancer therapy focusing on tumor-associated macrophages

Iron is an essential micronutrient in mammalian cells for basic processes such as DNA synthesis, cell cycle progression, and mitochondrial activity. Macrophages play a vital role in iron metabolism, which is tightly linked to their phagocytosis of senescent and death erythrocytes. It is now recognized that the polarization process of macrophages determines the expression profile of genes associated with iron metabolism. Although iron metabolism is strictly controlled by physiology, cancer has recently been connected with disordered iron metabolism. Moreover, in the environment of cancer, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) exhibit an iron release phenotype, which stimulates tumor cell survival and growth. Usually, the abundance of TAMs in the tumor is implicated in poor disease prognosis. Therefore, important attention has been drawn toward the development of tumor immunotherapies targeting these TAMs focussing on iron metabolism and reprogramming polarized phenotypes. Although further systematic research is still required, these efforts are almost certainly valuable in the search for new and effective cancer treatments.     

Hepcidin非铁调控因子研究进展

铁调素（Hepcidin）是由肝细胞分泌的维持人体系统性铁平衡的核心因子,其通过改变细胞膜铁转运蛋白（ferroportin,Fpn）的表达量以调控肠黏膜细胞和巨噬细胞内铁的转出水平,从而决定机体循环铁水平并影响肝脏等主要储铁脏器的铁负荷程度。根据近年来的研究发现,影响Hepcidin表达的主要因素可以归纳为两个方面：一是机体本身对铁的需求,而由于铁本身又是Hb（hemoglobin,血红蛋白）的合成原料以及携氧成份,因此还应包括机体对Hb合成和缺氧的反应,介导因子主要包括携铁转铁蛋白（holo—transferrin,holo—Tf）、促红细胞生成素（erythropoietin,EPO）和缺氧诱导因子-1（hypoxia．inducible factor1,HIF．1）;另一则是源于疾病病理过程中相关致病因素、细胞因子、激素等非铁调控因子的改变对其表达调控机制产生的影响,并通过扰乱机体铁稳态加速疾病的发展或加重病情。随着研究资料的积累,糖尿病、部分心血管疾病、酒精性或非酒精性脂肪肝等慢性疾病存在铁过负荷已是不争的事实,多种hepcidin非铁调控因子在代谢紊乱型铁过负荷综合征（sysmetabolic iron overload syndrome）发生过程中的作用受到了广泛重视。对一些常见疾病中引起hepcidin表达变化异常和铁代谢紊乱的非铁因子及其作用机制的研究进展进行综述。     

Iron and the heart: A paradigm shift from systemic to cardiomyocyte abnormalities

Iron is a key micronutrient for the human body and participates in biological processes, such as oxygen transport, storage, and utilization. Iron homeostasis plays a crucial role in the function of the heart and both iron deficiency and iron overload are harmful to the heart, which is partly mediated by increased oxidative stress. Iron enters the cardiomyocyte through the classic pathway, by binding to the transferrin 1 receptor (TfR1), but also through other routes: T-type calcium channel (TTCC), divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1), L-type calcium channel (LTCC), Zrt-, Irt-like Proteins (ZIP) 8 and 14. Only one protein, ferroportin (FPN), extrudes iron from cardiomyocytes. Intracellular iron is utilized, stored bound to cytoplasmic ferritin or imported by mitochondria. This cardiomyocyte iron homeostasis is controlled by iron regulatory proteins (IRP). When the cellular iron level is low, expression of IRPs increases and they reduce expression of FPN, inhibiting iron efflux, reduce ferritin expression, inhibiting iron storage and augment expression of TfR1, increasing cellular iron availability. Such cellular iron homeostasis explains why the heart is very susceptible to iron overload: while cardiomyocytes possess redundant iron importing mechanisms, they are equipped with only one iron exporting protein, ferroportin. Furthermore, abnormalities of iron homeostasis have been found in heart failure and coronary artery disease, however, no clear picture is emerging yet in this area. If we better understand iron homeostasis in the cardiomyocyte, we may be able to develop better therapies for a variety of heart diseases to which abnormalities of iron homeostasis may contribute.     

The relevance of iron in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease

Alterations of iron levels in the brain has been observed and documented in a number of neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD). The elevated nigral iron levels observed in PD may reflect a dysfunction of brain iron homeostasis. Under normal physiological conditions excess iron can be sequestrated in ferritin and neuromelanin. Alternatively, the excess iron may represent a component of brain iron deposition associated with ageing. The aetiology of idiopathic PD largely remains an enigma. However, intensive investigations have provided a host of putative mechanisms that might contribute to the pathogenesis underlying the characteristic degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). The mechanisms proposed include oxidative (and nitrative) stress, inflammation, excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, altered proteolysis and finally apoptotic induced cell death. Iron-mediated cellular destruction is mediated primarily via reactive oxygen or/and nitrogen species induced oxidative stress. Furthermore, these pathogenic mechanisms appear to be closely interlinked to the cascade of events leading to cellular death. There are conflicting reports about the stage during disease progression at which nigral iron change occurs in PD. Some have found that there are no changes in iron content SN in asymptomatic incidental Lewy body disease, suggesting it may represent a secondary event in the cascade of neuronal degeneration. In contrast, others have found an elevation of iron in SN in pre-clinical stages. These discrepancies may be attributed to the occurrence of different sub-groups of the disease. This concurs with the notion that PD represents a group of related diseases with a number of potential pathogenic pathways.     

Ironing out Parkinson's disease: is therapeutic treatment with iron chelators a real possibility?

Levels of iron are increased in the brains of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients compared to age-matched controls. This has been postulated to contribute to progression of the disease via several mechanisms including exacerbation of oxidative stress, initiation of inflammatory responses and triggering of Lewy body formation. In this minireview, we examine the putative role of iron in PD and its pharmacological chelation as a prospective therapeutic for the disease.     

Partial conservation of functions between eukaryotic frataxin and the Escherichia coli frataxin homolog CyaY

Frataxin is a mitochondrial protein structurally conserved from bacteria to humans. Eukaryotic frataxins are known to be involved in the maintenance of mitochondrial iron balance via roles in iron delivery and iron detoxification. The prokaryotic frataxin homolog, CyaY, has been shown to bind and donate iron for the assembly of [2Fe-2S] clusters in vitro. However, in contrast to the severe phenotypes associated with the partial or complete loss of frataxin in humans and other eukaryotes, deletion of the cyaY gene does not cause any obvious alteration of iron balance in bacterial cells, an effect that probably reflects functional redundancy between CyaY and other bacterial proteins. To study CyaY function in a nonredundant setting, we have expressed a mitochondria-targeted form of CyaY in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain depleted of the endogenous yeast frataxin protein (yfh1Delta). We show that in this strain CyaY complements to a large extent the loss of iron-sulfur cluster enzyme activities and heme synthesis, and thereby maintains a nearly normal respiratory growth. In addition, CyaY effectively protects yfh1Delta from oxidative damage during treatment with hydrogen peroxide but is less efficient in detoxifying excess labile iron during aerobic growth.