Wang Xiang, Xia Tian
Department of Medicine, Division of NanoMedicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Department of Medicine, Division of NanoMedicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
J Environ Sci (China). 2015 Aug 1;34:256-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jes.2015.06.001. Epub 2015 Jun 30.
Among the numerous health conditions environmental pollutants can cause, chronic exposure to pollutants including persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals has been shown to disturb a specific biological homeostatic process, the iron metabolism in human body. Disorders of iron metabolism are among the common diseases of humans and encompass a broad spectrum of diseases with different clinical manifestations, ranging from anemia to iron overload, and possibly to neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Hepcidin-ferroportin (FPN) signaling is one of the key mechanisms responsible for iron supply, utilization, recycling, and storage, and recent studies demonstrated that exposure to environmental pollutants including POPs and heavy metals could lead to disruption of the hepcidin-FPN axis along with disordered systemic iron homeostasis and diseases. This article introduces and highlights the accompanying review article by Drs. Xu and Liu in this journal, which elaborates in detail the adverse effects of environmental pollutants on iron metabolism, and the mechanisms responsible for these toxicological outcomes. It also points out the knowledge gaps still existing in this subject matter. Research that will fill these gaps will improve our understanding of the issue and provide useful information to prevent or treat diseases induced by environmental pollutants.
在环境污染物可能导致的众多健康问题中，长期接触包括持久性有机污染物（POPs）和重金属在内的污染物已被证明会干扰一种特定的生物稳态过程，即人体的铁代谢。铁代谢紊乱是人类常见疾病之一，涵盖了一系列具有不同临床表现的疾病，从贫血到铁过载，甚至可能包括神经退行性疾病和癌症。铁调素-铁转运蛋白（FPN）信号通路是负责铁供应、利用、循环和储存的关键机制之一，最近的研究表明，接触包括POPs和重金属在内的环境污染物会导致铁调素-FPN轴的破坏，以及全身铁稳态紊乱和疾病。本文介绍并重点提及了徐博士和刘博士在本期刊上发表的相关综述文章，该文章详细阐述了环境污染物对铁代谢的不利影响以及导致这些毒理学结果的机制。同时，本文还指出了该主题中仍然存在的知识空白。填补这些空白的研究将增进我们对该问题的理解，并为预防或治疗由环境污染物引起的疾病提供有用信息。
