动物储铁蛋白研究进展

铁元素是生物体中必不可少的微量元素,在生物的生长发育中发挥着重要作用。铁蛋白是一种分布广泛的球形蛋白,能够以稳定的形式储存大量铁。铁蛋白通过储存和释放铁来维持机体内铁平衡。铁蛋白不仅是机体中重要的铁储存蛋白,同时也能有效保护生物体免受来自氧自由基的损伤。与此同时,铁蛋白含量可以作为一些疾病预防检测的明确指标。对铁的代谢吸收及铁对基因调控的研究,进一步说明了维持铁平衡对生物体有重要意义。     

用铁蛋白合成纳米粒子的研究进展

铁蛋白是一种生物储铁蛋白 ,其储存铁的特性和储存铁在生物体内的特殊形态 ,通过相对温和、简便的生物、化学、物理过程 ,可合成多种具有特异的力、热、光、电、磁等特性的纳米粒子 ,并可用来构建纳米级的分子器件     

植物铁蛋白转基因的应用

植物铁蛋白是一种铁存放蛋白,既可以储存大量的可被植物利用的铁,又能抵抗环境胁迫。利用铁蛋白的转基因研究不仅可以缓解由于铁缺乏而引起的一系列疾病,而且能提高植物对环境的耐受性,在生物治疗中具有重要意义。文章就铁蛋白的结构以及铁蛋白转基因植物在上述几个领域中的研究进展作简单的介绍。     

转铁蛋白基因烟草中内源铁蛋白基因的差异表达及含铁量的变化

铁蛋白是一种由24个亚基组成的高分子贮藏蛋白质,可以储存多达4500个铁原子,在动植物及微生物的新陈代谢中起着非常重要的作用。有研究表明,外源铁蛋白的大量表达可以提高植物储存铁离子的能力。为了明确外源铁蛋白基因转化植物中内源铁蛋白基因差异表达与植物含铁量的关系,本研究在成功获得2个烟草铁蛋白基因的全长cDNA克隆NtFerl（登录号：ay083924）和NtFer2（登录号：ay141105）的基础上,以烟草品种SR-1（Nicotiana tabacum cv．Petit Havana SR-1）为受体,培育了转铁蛋白基因烟草。将双元载体pBI121中的GUS基因用来自大豆的铁蛋白基因SoyFer1（登录号：m64337）置换,利用农杆菌介导法转化烟草叶盘,获得在CaMV35S启动子驱动表达的大豆铁蛋白基因转化烟草植株。Northern杂交和Western杂交分析表明外源铁蛋白基因在转基因烟草中得到了正确表达。比较转基因烟草和非转基因烟草的内源铁蛋白基因表达强度、叶片铁含量、根系铁还原酶活性、株高和鲜重表明,外源铁蛋白基因不但促进了NtFer1的表达,提高转基因植株的储存铁的能力和根系铁还原酶活性,而且促进植株的生长速度。以上结果说明,外源铁蛋白基因转化烟草中内源铁蛋白基因的表达、铁离子的还原吸收及光和作用都得到了进一步的提高。     

揭开铁蛋白在铁稳态代谢网络中的真面目

早在1937年铁蛋白(Ferritin)就被发现并公认为是铁的储存蛋白,在铁稳态代谢中发挥关键作用。Ferritin分为轻链(L-Ferritin,LFt)和重链(H-Ferritin,HFt)两种形式,存在于原核和真核生物中,在各种组织和细胞中广泛表达;24个亚基形成球形结构,中央孔穴可容纳4 500个Fe~(3+)。Ferritin作为最经典的铁代谢相关基因,其细胞分泌、摄取及其它功能(非储存铁)并不明确,最近几篇研究论文给出了较好的诠释。     

乳铁蛋白分子结构及其抗菌机制

乳铁蛋白是一种单体糖蛋白,是哺乳动物非特异性免疫系统的第一道防线,具有防御微生物感染的功能。分析了乳铁蛋白氨基酸组成、多肽链折叠、铁结合结构、分子表面特性等与抗菌有关的分子结构。综述了乳铁蛋白抗微生物活性的作用机制,包括限制Fe3+利用,抑制细菌生物膜形成,与负电性生物大分子结合,降解细菌毒力因子以及阻止细菌入侵等。     

主编导读

本期亮点 在酶的生产过程中,希望分离纯化过程尽量简单,且酶能够被重复利用.如果能在细胞内使酶分子聚集成为微米级的无载体超分子结构,之后又将这种超分子结构全部或部分转化为寡聚态酶分子,就有可能同时实现酶的分离纯化及催化性能提升,对酶的实际应用具有重要意义.铁蛋白是一类将铁储存在蛋白聚集体内并能够保护细胞免受氧化损伤的蛋白...     

植物铁代谢及植物铁蛋白结构与功能研究进展

铁在生命过程中起着很重要的作用,植物缺铁后叶绿素合成受阻而导致的黄化症状已成为世界性植物营养失调问题。与之相随,人类铁营养的缺乏也极为严重,因此研究植物铁代谢并且开发安全、天然、高效的补铁因子具有重要的意义。到目前为止,在已经发现的植物中,只有豆科类植物是将其种子中～90％的铁储藏在铁蛋白中,所以来源于豆科类植物的铁蛋白是一个理想的补铁资源。与动物铁蛋白相比,植物铁蛋白具有两个显著的特点：首先,植物铁蛋白在其N端具有一个独特的EP肽段;其次,植物铁蛋白只含有H型亚基,且有两种不同的H型亚基组成。主要阐述有关植物铁代谢及铁蛋白的结构、功能的最新研究进展。     

棕色固氮菌细菌铁蛋白释放铁的动力学方程和性质

棕色固氮菌细胞铁蛋白铁核中的磷铁组成存在非均匀性。细菌铁蛋白释放铁的动力学特性表现出复杂性。通过动力学曲线分析,提出蛋白壳自身调节能力起着限制释放铁速率关键步骤的观点建立分析铁蛋白释放铁的动力学特性方程并用它较合理地阐明铁蛋白释放铁的动力不储存铁的途径。用分光光度法和动力学方程研究细胞铁蛋白释放铁的全过程。其表明该蛋白以一级反应方式释放铁核表层的铁和以零级反应方式释放铁核内层的铁。外加磷酸盐能强烈     

棕色固氮菌细菌铁蛋白释放铁的动力学方程和性质

棕色固氮菌细菌铁蛋白铁核中的磷铁组成存在非均匀性。细菌铁蛋白释放铁的动力学特性表现出复杂性。通过动力学曲线分析,提出蛋白壳自身调节能力起着限制释放铁速率关键步骤的观点,建立分析铁蛋白释放铁的动力学特性方程并用它较合理地阐明铁蛋白释放铁的动力学规律及储存铁的途径。用分光光度法和动力学方程研究细菌铁蛋白释放铁的全过程,其结果表明该蛋白以一级反应方式释放铁核表层的铁和以零级反应方式释放铁核内层的铁。外加磷酸盐能强烈地抑制释放铁的速率,引起释放铁的反应级数的转化,迫使铁蛋白以一级反应的方式释放铁核中的大多数铁。     

细菌生产人铁蛋白的新功能及应用

铁蛋白(Ferritin)是一种广泛存在于生物体中的笼状蛋白,由24个亚基自组装形成的蛋白质外壳和铁内核两部分组成,是维持机体铁代谢平衡的重要蛋白。最新发现,人血清铁蛋白含量的变化与某些疾病相关,特别是发现利用大肠杆菌重组表达、仿生合成的磁性人铁蛋白具有双功能特性,即识别肿瘤并使其可视化。此外,铁蛋白独特的结构及理化性质使其成为理想的纳米载体,用于构筑多功能肿瘤成像和药物输送的平台。本文重点介绍人铁蛋白的新功能及其在疾病诊断和肿瘤靶向治疗中的应用前景。     

Mutations of ferritin H chain C-terminus produced by nucleotide insertions have altered stability and functional properties

Ferritin is an iron storage protein made of 24 subunits. Previous mutational analyses showed that ferritin C-terminal region has a major role in protein stability and assembly but is only marginally involved in the mechanism of iron incorporation. However, it has recently been shown that patients who carry alterations of ferritin C-terminal sequence caused by nucleotide insertions show neurological disorders possibly related to altered protein functionality and cellular iron deregulation. To re-evaluate the role of this region, five mutants of mouse H-ferritin were produced by 2-nucleotide insertions that modified the last 6-29 residues and extended the sequence of 14 amino acids. The mutants were expressed in Escherichia coli and analysed for solubility, stability and capacity to incorporate iron. The alteration of the last 6-residue non-helical extension had no evident effect on the properties of ferritin, while solubility and capacity to assemble in ferritin shells decreased progressively with the extension of the modified region. The results also showed that the modification of even a part of the terminal E-helix abolished the capacity of ferritin to incorporate iron during expression in the cells, probably caused by conformational modification of the hydrophobic channels. The data support the hypothesis that the pathogenic mutations alter cellular iron homeostasis.     

细胞质及线粒体ferritin与铁代谢

铁是机体代谢所必需的微量元素之一。近年来,铁在机体内的代谢越来越受到人们的重视。维持体内铁的平衡,对保证机体的正常生理功能显得极为重要。胞质铁蛋白（cytosolic ferrifin,CFt）是细胞内重要的调节铁平衡的因子之一。而近年发现的线粒体铁蛋白（mitochondrial ferritin,MtFt）是一种定位在线粒上、和铁代谢密切相关的蛋白,具有组织受限性表达的特点,它在结构和功能上与胞质铁蛋白相比有一定的相似性,但是由于其mRNA上没有铁调控元件,它的表达不直接受铁调节蛋白调控,所以其确切功能及表达机制还未完全明了,因此,近年来有不少人开展了这方面的研究。对线粒体铁蛋白的深入研究将极大地丰富人们对铁在亚细胞水平上的代谢机制和功能的认识。文章介绍了细胞质铁蛋白的调控机制以及线粒体铁蛋白的结构、功能、表达及与铁代谢的关系。     

The effects of ascorbic acid on the intracellular metabolism of iron and ferritin

An important property of ascorbic acid is its ability to increase the availability of storage iron to chelators. To examine the mechanism of this effect, K562 cells were incubated with ascorbate, attaining an intracellular level of 1 nmol/10(7) cells. In contrast to the reductive mobilization of iron seen with isolated ferritin, ascorbate stabilized iron preincorporated into cellular ferritin. Biosynthetic labeling with [35S]methionine demonstrated that ascorbate also retarded the degradation of the ferritin protein shell. Ferritin is normally degraded in lysosomes. The lysosomal protease inhibitors leupeptin and chloroquine produced a qualitatively similar stabilization of ferritin. Ascorbate did not act as a general inhibitor of proteolysis, however, since it did not effect hemoglobin degradation in these cells. The stabilization of cellular ferritin by ascorbate was accompanied by an expansion of the pool of chelatable iron.     

铁自噬与铁死亡及其相关疾病

铁是血红素、线粒体呼吸链复合体和各种生物酶的重要辅助因子,参与氧气运输、氧化还原反应和代谢物合成等生物过程。铁蛋白(ferritin)是一种铁存储蛋白质,通过储存和释放铁来维持机体内铁平衡。铁自噬(ferritinophagy)作为一种选择性自噬方式,介导铁蛋白降解释放游离铁,参与细胞内铁含量的调控。适度铁自噬维持细胞内铁含量稳定,但铁自噬过度会释放出大量游离铁。通过芬顿 (Fenton)反应催化产生大量的活性氧(reactive oxygen species, ROS),发生脂质过氧化造成细胞受损。因此,铁自噬在维持细胞生理性铁稳态中发挥至关重要的作用。核受体共激活因子4 (nuclear receptor co-activator 4, NCOA4)被认为是铁自噬的关键调节因子,与铁蛋白靶向结合,并传递至溶酶体中降解释放游离铁,其介导的铁自噬构成了铁代谢的重要组成部分。最新研究表明,NCOA4受体内铁含量、自噬、溶酶体和低氧等因素的调控。NCOA4介导的铁蛋白降解与铁死亡(ferroptosis)有关。铁死亡是自噬性细胞死亡过程。铁自噬通过调节细胞铁稳态和细胞ROS生成,成为诱导铁死亡的上游机制,与贫血、神经退行性疾病、癌症、缺血/再灌注损伤与疾病的发生发展密切相关。本文针对NCOA4介导的铁自噬通路在铁死亡中的功能特征,探讨NCOA4在这些疾病中的作用,可能为相关疾病的治疗提供启示。     

In Vitro Studies of Ferritin Iron Release and Neurotoxicity

Abstract: The increase in brain iron associated with several neurodegenerative diseases may lead to an increased production of free radicals via the Fenton reaction. Intracellular iron is usually tightly regulated, being bound by ferritin in an insoluble ferrihydrite core. The neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) releases iron from the ferritin core by reducing it to the ferrous form. Iron release induced by 6-OHDA and structurally related compounds and two other dopaminergic neurotoxins, 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium iodide (MPP⁺) and 1-trichloromethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline (TaClo), were compared, to identify the structural characteristics important for such release. 1,2,4-Trihydroxybenzene (THB) was most effective in releasing ferritin-bound iron, followed by 6-OHDA, dopamine, catechol, and hydroquinone. Resorcinol, MPP⁺, and TaClo were ineffective. The ability to release iron was associated with a low oxidation potential. It is proposed that a low oxidation potential and an ortho -dihydroxyphenyl structure are important in the mechanism by which ferritin iron is mobilized. In the presence of ferritin, both 6-OHDA and THB strongly stimulated lipid peroxidation, an effect abolished by the addition of the iron chelator deferoxamine. These results suggest that ferritin iron release contributes to free radical-induced cell damage in vivo.     

Crosslinks between intramolecular pairs of ferritin subunits: effects on both H and L subunits and on immunoreactivity of sheep spleen ferritin

Ferritin is a multisubunit protein, controlling iron storage, with a protein coat composed of 24 subunits (up to three distinct types) in different proportions depending on cell type. Little is known about the subunit interactions in ferritin protein coats composed of heterologous subunits, despite the relevance to ferritin structure and ferritin function (iron uptake and release). Synthetic crosslinking is a convenient way to probe subunit contacts. Crosslinks between subunit pairs in ferritin protein coats are also a natural post-translational modification which coincides with different iron content in ferritin from sheep spleen; ferritin from sheep spleen also contains H and L subunits. Crosslinks synthesized by the reaction of ferritin low in natural crosslinks with difluorodinitrobenzene (F2DNB) reproduced the effects of the natural crosslinks on iron uptake and release. We now extend our observations on the structural effects of natural and synthetic crosslinks to include immunoreactivity of the assembled protein, with monoclonal antibodies as a probe. We also demonstrate, for the first time, ferritin peptides involved in an apparent H- and L-subunit contact: two peptides decreased 4X in cyanogen bromide peptide maps after F2DNB crosslinking were residues L-96-138 and H-66-96; the major DNP-dipeptide was Lys-DNP-Lys. Using the structure of an all L-subunit ferritin as a model, the most likely site for the H-L DNP crosslink is L-Lys 104 (C helix) and H-Lys 67 (B helix). The B helix forms the internal subunit dimer interface, a putative site of iron core nucleation. Alteration by crosslinks of the B helix could, therefore, explain the effect of crosslinks on ferritin iron uptake, release, and iron content.     

Iron-mediated aggregation and a localized structural change characterize ferritin from a mutant light chain polypeptide that causes neurodegeneration

Nucleotide insertions in the ferritin light chain (FTL) polypeptide gene cause hereditary ferritinopathy, a neurodegenerative disease characterized by abnormal accumulation of ferritin and iron in the central nervous system. Here we describe for the first time the protein structure and iron storage function of the FTL mutant p.Phe167SerfsX26 (MT-FTL), which has a C terminus altered in sequence and extended in length. MT-FTL polypeptides assembled spontaneously into soluble, spherical 24-mers that were ultrastructurally indistinguishable from those of the wild type. Far-UV CD showed a decrease in alpha-helical content, and 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate fluorescence revealed the appearance of hydrophobic binding sites. Near-UV CD and proteolysis studies suggested little or no structural alteration outside of the C-terminal region. In contrast to wild type, MT-FTL homopolymers precipitated at much lower iron loading, had a diminished capacity to incorporate iron, and were less thermostable. However, precipitation was significantly reversed by addition of iron chelators both in vitro and in vivo. Our results reveal substantial protein conformational changes localized at the 4-fold pore of MT-FTL homopolymers and imply that the C terminus of the MT-FTL polypeptide plays an important role in ferritin solubility, stability, and iron management. We propose that the protrusion of some portion of the C terminus above the spherical shell allows it to cross-link with other mutant polypeptides through iron bridging, leading to enhanced mutant precipitation by iron. Our data suggest that hereditary ferritinopathy pathogenesis is likely to result from a combination of reduction in iron storage function and enhanced toxicity associated with iron-induced ferritin aggregates.