ZRT/IRT-like Protein 14 (ZIP14) Promotes the Cellular Assimilation of Iron from Transferrin

ZIP14 is a transmembrane metal ion transporter that is abundantly expressed in the liver, heart, and pancreas. Previous studies of HEK 293 cells and the hepatocyte cell lines AML12 and HepG2 established that ZIP14 mediates the uptake of non-transferrin-bound iron, a form of iron that appears in the plasma during pathologic iron overload. In this study we investigated the role of ZIP14 in the cellular assimilation of iron from transferrin, the circulating plasma protein that normally delivers iron to cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis. We also determined the subcellular localization of ZIP14 in HepG2 cells. We found that overexpression of ZIP14 in HEK 293T cells increased the assimilation of iron from transferrin without increasing levels of transferrin receptor 1 or the uptake of transferrin. To allow for highly specific and sensitive detection of endogenous ZIP14 in HepG2 cells, we used a targeted knock-in approach to generate a cell line expressing a FLAG-tagged ZIP14 allele. Confocal microscopic analysis of these cells detected ZIP14 at the plasma membrane and in endosomes containing internalized transferrin. HepG2 cells in which endogenous ZIP14 was suppressed by siRNA assimilated 50% less iron from transferrin compared with controls. The uptake of transferrin, however, was unaffected. We also found that ZIP14 can mediate the transport of iron at pH 6.5, the pH at which iron dissociates from transferrin within the endosome. These results suggest that endosomal ZIP14 participates in the cellular assimilation of iron from transferrin, thus identifying a potentially new role for ZIP14 in iron metabolism.     

Cloning and partial sequence of transferrin-binding protein 2 of Neisseria meningitidis using a novel method: Twin N-terminal PCR

Abstract The genes encoding transferrin-binding proteins (TBPs) 1 and 2 of Neisseria meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae were used as model loci in a novel method of cloning (twin N-terminal polymerase chain reaction; TNT-PCR) involving amplification between the 5' ends of two genes. Primers were based on N-terminal amino-acid sequences. A 2.1-kb product amplified from N. meningitidis strain SD (B15 P1.16) was cloned into a plasmid vector and partially sequenced. Translated sequence immediately downstream of the primer at both ends of this product correlated to the additional known N-terminal amino acids of TBP-1 and 2. The protein encoded by the cloned sequence reacted with TBP-2-specific antiserum. The size of products generated in TNT-PCR correlated exactly with the different sized TBP-2 produced by 10 strains of the Neisseria spp. examined, indicating successful cloning of the gene for TBP-2 and showing it to be adjacent to and preceding TBP-1 on the chromosome for both N. meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae .     

The nature of iron released by resident and stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages

Mouse peritoneal macrophages were allowed to ingest ⁵⁹Fe, ¹²⁵I-labelled transferrin-antitransferrin immune complexes, and the release of ⁵⁹Fe and degraded transferrin was studied. Some iron was released as ferritin, but a major portion was bound by bovine transferrin present in the culture medium, which contained fetal calf serum. If the medium was saturated with iron prior to incubation with the cells, little of the released iron was then bound by transferrin but appeared either as a high molecular weight fraction or, if nitrilotriacetate was present in the medium, some also appeared as a low molecular weight fraction. The release of non-ferritin iron was biphasic, the early, rapid phase being more prolonged with resident cells than with stimulated cells. The rate of release in the late phase did not differ significantly between resident and stimulated cells. Incubation at 0°C completely suppressed the release of degraded transferrin, but iron release continued at about 30% of the rate seen in control cultures at 37°C. A model for the intracellular handling of ingested iron is proposed to take account of the different release patterns of resident and stimulated macrophages.     

vMIP-II-TfN融合蛋白在毕赤酵母中的表达和纯化

目的:构建pPIC-vMIP-II-TfN酵母表达载体,表达纯化vMIP-II-TfN融合蛋白。方法:利用PCR方法扩增编码人转铁蛋白N端半分子的基因片段,通过酶切、连接、转化等分子克隆方法构建pPIC-vMIP-II-TfN酵母表达载体;电击法转化X33酵母菌;用甲醇诱导重组酵母菌表达融合蛋白,利用硫酸铵沉淀、透析、Ni-NTA层析等技术进行蛋白纯化,SDS-PAGE和Western blot检测蛋白表达和纯化情况,利用趋化实验进行纯化蛋白活性检测。结果:经过两次PCR扩增了一个长约1.1kb的包含Xba I酶切位点的IgG3-TfN基因片段,插入pPIC-vMIP-II的Xba I酶切位点,经菌液PCR鉴定获得重组子,测序结果表明构建载体pPIC-vMIP-II-TfN的表达框正确无误,转化X33酵母菌,用甲醇诱导表达出48kDa的vMIP-II-TfN融合蛋白,经硫酸铵沉淀、透析、Ni-NTA纯化后得到纯度约为95%的vMIP-II-TfN融合蛋白。Western印迹结果表明融合蛋白能与转铁蛋白抗体特异性结合。活性检测表明经过诱导表达的vMIP-II-TfN融合蛋白具有趋化抑制活性。结论:成功构建pPIC-vMIP-II-TfN酵母表达载体,重组酵母工程菌经甲醇诱导成功表达出vMIP-II-TfN融合蛋白,纯化后的vMIP-II-TfN融合蛋白具有趋化抑制活性。     

转铁蛋白修饰脂质体的制备及其肝癌靶向性研究

目的：肿瘤的靶向治疗是当前研究的热点,肝肿瘤细胞表面有大量的转铁蛋白受体表达,而正常组织较少,因此本研究制备转铁蛋白（TF）修饰的脂质体（TFLPs）,并对其肝肿瘤靶向性进行研究。方法：采用薄膜分散法制备普通脂质体,考察其形态,粒径,电位。通过体外血清稳定性模拟脂质体进入体内后的稳定性。通过HepG2肿瘤细胞对TFLPs的摄取实验考查脂质体与肝癌细胞的亲和力。构建荷瘤裸鼠模型,考查TFLPs在荷瘤裸鼠体内的分布。结果：所制备的TFLPs平均粒径为108．8±9．5nm,Zeta电位为．1．80±0．73mV。学期稳定性试验结果显示,TFLPs在24h内具有良好的血清稳定性。体外细胞摄取实验表明,HepG2细胞对TFLPs的摄取效率是普通长循环脂质体（LPs）的3．4倍。荷瘤裸鼠肝组织和肿瘤组织切片结果显示,TFLPs比LPs具有更好的肿瘤靶向性。结论：该脂质体制备方法简单,与LPs相比,经转铁蛋白修饰可显著提高肿瘤细胞对脂质体的摄取,TFLPs是一种潜在高效的肝癌靶向给药系统。     

The time-dependent transport of chromium in adult rats from the bloodstream to the urine

While chromium was proposed to be an essential trace element over 40 years ago and if essential should possess a specific transport and distribution mechanism, the details of its transport from the bloodstream to the urine have not been elucidated. However, chromium is known to be maintained in the bloodstream bound to transferrin and to be excreted in the urine bound to the oligopeptide chromodulin or a similar chromodulin-like species. Injection of ⁵¹Cr-labeled transferrin into the bloodstream resulted in a rapid and insulin-sensitive movement of chromium into the tissues as Cr transferrin; greater than 50% of the Cr is transported to the tissues within 30 min. Tissue levels of Cr are maximal 30 min after injection; decreases in tissue Cr with time are mirrored by increases in urine Cr. Approximately 50% of the ⁵¹Cr appears in the urine within 360 min of injection in the absence of added insulin; insulin treatment concurrent with injection of ⁵¹Cr-labeled transferrin results in approximately 80% of the label appearing in the urine within 180 min. The removal of ⁵¹Cr from the blood is faster than the appearance of ⁵¹Cr in the urine; the lag in time indicates that the Cr transferrin in the blood and Cr in the urine are not in direct equilibrium and that intermediates in the transport of Cr must be involved. This establishes a clear pathway of transport of Cr starting from transport by transferrin from the bloodstream into the tissues, followed by release and processing in the tissues to form chromodulin, excretion into the bloodstream, rapid clearance of chromodulin or a similar species into the urine, and ultimately excretion as this species. Insulin stimulates the processing of Cr in the tissues.     

Water-soluble titanocene complexes with sulfur-containing aminoacids: synthesis, spectroscopic, electrochemical and Ti(IV)–transferrin interaction studies

Three new water soluble titanocene–aminoacid complexes have been synthesized via the reaction of Cp₂TiCl₂ and two equivalents of aminoacid (L) in methanol, affording [Cp₂TiL₂]Cl₂, L=L-cysteine (2), D-penicillamine (3) and L-methionine (4). These complexes have been characterized by ¹H, IR and UV-Vis spectroscopies, elemental analysis and cyclic voltammetry. Kinetic studies of ligand hydrolysis have been monitored at low pH using UV-Vis and ¹H NMR spectroscopies to assess their stability in aqueous solution. At low pH, aminoacid ligands are lost one order of magnitude faster than cyclopentadienyl. However, at physiological pH, in Tris buffer solution, the complexes decompose rapidly to form an insoluble titanium compound. The affinity of these complexes to apo-transferrin was also investigated to elucidate how the ancillary aminoacid ligands affect the titanium intake by apo-transferrin.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Diagnostic utility of HFE variants in Spanish patients: Association with HLA alleles and role in susceptibility to acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Human Hemochromatosis (HFE) gene, C282Y and H63D, are the major variants associated to altered iron status and it is well known that these mutations are in linkage disequilibrium with certain Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)-A alleles. In addition, the C282Y SNP has been previously suggested to confer susceptibility to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We have aimed to assess the diagnosis utility of these polymorphisms in a population of Spanish subjects with suspicion of hereditary iron overload and to evaluate the effect of their associations with HLA-A alleles on the susceptibility to ALL. Both the 63DD [OR = 4.31 (1.7–11.2)] and 282YY (p for trend = 0.02) genotypes were more frequently found among subjects with suspicion of iron overload than among controls. 282YY carriers displayed significantly higher transferrin saturation index (TSI) values (p < 0.001) as well as serum iron (p = 0.01) and ferritin (p = 0.01) levels. In addition, transferrin levels were lower in these subjects (p = 0.01). Likewise, patients who were carriers of the compound heterozygous diplotype (282CY/63HD) showed significantly higher TSI and serum iron and ferritin concentrations. The H63D SNP did not significantly affect the analytical parameters measured. All 282YY carriers and 69.2% of compound heterozygotes showed an altered biochemical index. The frequencies of the HFE SNPs in ALL pediatric patients were lower than those found in controls, whereas the HLA-A*24 allele was significantly overrepresented in the patients group [OR = 3.76 (1.9–7.3)]. No HFE-HLA-A associations were found to modulate the ALL risk. These results suggest that it may be useful to test for both HFE H63D and C282Y polymorphisms in patients with iron overload, as opposed to just genotyping for the C282Y SNP, which is customary in some healthcare centers. These HFE variants and their associations with HLA-A alleles were not observed to be relevant for the susceptibility to ALL in our population.