Arosio Paolo, Levi Sonia
Dipartimento Materno Infantile e Tecnologie Biomediche, Università di Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
Free Radic Biol Med. 2002 Aug 15;33(4):457-63. doi: 10.1016/s0891-5849(02)00842-0.
Ferritin is one of the major proteins of iron metabolism. It is almost ubiquitous and tightly regulated by the metal. Biochemical and structural properties of the ferritins are largely conserved from bacteria to man, although the role in the regulation of iron trafficking varies in the different organisms. Recent studies have clarified some of the major aspects of the reaction between iron and ferritin, which results in the formation of the iron core and production of hydrogen peroxide. The characterization of cellular models in which ferritin expression is modulated has shown that the ferroxidase catalytic site on the H-chain has a central role in regulating iron availability. In turn, this has secondary effects on a number of cellular activities, which include proliferation and resistance to oxidative damage. Moreover, the response to apoptotic stimuli is affected by H-ferritin expression. Altered ferritin L-chain expression has been found in at least two types of genetic disorders, although its role in the determination of the pathology has not been fully clarified. The recent discovery of a new ferritin specific for the mitochondria, which is functionally similar to the H-ferritin, opens new perspectives in the study of the relationships between iron, oxidative damage and free radicals.
铁蛋白是铁代谢的主要蛋白质之一。它几乎无处不在，并受到金属的严格调控。从细菌到人类，铁蛋白的生化和结构特性在很大程度上是保守的，尽管其在铁运输调节中的作用在不同生物体中有所不同。最近的研究阐明了铁与铁蛋白反应的一些主要方面，该反应导致铁核心的形成和过氧化氢的产生。对铁蛋白表达受到调节的细胞模型的表征表明，H链上的铁氧化酶催化位点在调节铁的可用性方面起着核心作用。反过来，这对许多细胞活动产生次要影响，包括增殖和对氧化损伤的抗性。此外，对凋亡刺激的反应受H-铁蛋白表达的影响。在至少两种类型的遗传疾病中发现了铁蛋白L链表达的改变，尽管其在病理决定中的作用尚未完全阐明。最近发现了一种对线粒体特异的新铁蛋白，其功能与H-铁蛋白相似，为研究铁、氧化损伤和自由基之间的关系开辟了新的前景。
