Testa Ugo, Pelosi Elvira, Castelli Germana
Department of Oncology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis. 2025 Sep 1;17(1):e2025067. doi: 10.4084/MJHID.2025.067. eCollection 2025.
Iron is required for several vital biological processes in all human cells. In mammals, a considerable number of proteins are involved in iron metabolism and utilize iron in many essential cellular processes, such as oxygen transport, mitochondrial respiration, gene regulation, and DNA synthesis or repair. Iron metabolism is a complex system finely regulated at both systemic and cellular levels. It involves the development of specialized mechanisms for iron absorption, transport, recycling, storage, and export, and protection against toxic compounds that can be generated during iron redox cycling in the presence of oxygen. The erythropoietic compartment consumes the majority of iron to support the high demand for hemoglobin synthesis. A tightly regulated system enables efficient iron uptake by erythroid cells and its subsequent processing for the synthesis of large amounts of heme, which is then incorporated into hemoglobin. A bidirectional regulatory system between erythropoiesis and iron metabolism ensures precise coordination between the two processes. This regulation is often disrupted in various anemic conditions.
铁是所有人类细胞中多种重要生物过程所必需的。在哺乳动物中，相当数量的蛋白质参与铁代谢，并在许多基本细胞过程中利用铁，如氧气运输、线粒体呼吸、基因调控以及DNA合成或修复。铁代谢是一个在全身和细胞水平都受到精细调节的复杂系统。它涉及铁吸收、运输、循环利用、储存和输出的专门机制的发展，以及防止在有氧条件下铁氧化还原循环过程中产生的有毒化合物的侵害。造血组织消耗大部分铁以满足血红蛋白合成的高需求。一个严格调控的系统使红系细胞能够有效地摄取铁，并对其进行后续加工以合成大量血红素，然后将血红素整合到血红蛋白中。造血作用和铁代谢之间的双向调节系统确保了这两个过程之间的精确协调。这种调节在各种贫血病症中常常受到干扰。
