铁摄取调节蛋白Fur功能和作用模式的研究进展

铁是大多数生物必需的微量元素,在健康和疾病,尤其是宿主-病原菌互作过程中发挥着至关重要的作用.细菌胞内铁离子浓度的高低不仅是调节自身高亲和力铁运输系统表达的信号,更是病原菌产生毒素和其他必要毒力因子的关键调控因素.而另一方面,超负荷的铁也会导致致命的细胞毒性.因此,生物体内铁稳态的维持受到严格控制,其中以铁摄取调节蛋白(ferric uptake regulator,Fur)的作用最为显著,其调控网络涵盖了细菌生命活动的各个方面.本综述将基于Fur的生物学功能,围绕其家族分类、结构特点和差异、调控网络和调控机制等方面进行总结和分析,以期为Fur和铁稳态调节等研究提供参考.

Function and Regulatory Modes of The Ferric Uptake Regulator Fur

Iron is an essential trace element for most organisms and plays a key role in health and disease, particularly in host-pathogen interactions. In bacteria, the intracellular iron concentration serves as a critical signal in not only controlling the expression of iron transport systems with high affinity, but also regulating the production of toxin and other important virulence factors. However, the overload of iron can lead to lethal cytotoxicity. Therefore, iron homeostasis is strictly regulated in most organisms, of which the iron binding global regulator, Fur (ferric uptake regulator) plays a pivotal role in the regulation of intracellular iron concentration. This review summarized the progress in the study of four aspects of Fur, including the composition of FUR superfamily, the structures of the Fur proteins and their difference, the regulation network of Fur, as well as its regulatory mechanism, thereby to provide insights for further research of Fur and iron homeostasis.