The Importance Of Iron In Pathophysiologic Conditions

647.6K

views

148

authors

44

articles

Editorial

24 February 2015

The importance of iron in pathophysiologic conditions

Raffaella Gozzelino

and

Paolo Arosio

8,442 views

28 citations

Editors

2

Raffaella Gozzelino

Technical University of Atlantic

Paolo Arosio

University of Brescia

Impact

Fetching...

About

The iron element (Fe) is strictly required for the survival of most forms of life, including bacteria, plants and humans. Fine-tuned regulatory mechanisms for Fe absorption, mobilization and recycling operate to maintain Fe homeostasis, the disruption of which leads to Fe overload or Fe depletion.
Whereas the deleterious effect of Fe deficiency relies on reduced oxygen transport and diminished activity of Fe-dependent enzymes, the cytotoxicity induced by Fe overload is due to the ability of this metal to act as a pro-oxidant and catalyze the formation of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals via the Fenton chemistry. This results in unfettered oxidative stress generation that, by inducing protein, lipid and DNA oxidation, leads to Fe-mediated programmed cell death and organ dysfunction. Major and systemic Fe overloads occurring in hemochromatosis and Fe-loading anemias have been extensively studied. However, localized tissue Fe overload was recently associated to a variety of pathologies, such as infection, inflammation, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. In keeping with the existence of cross-regulatory interactions between Fe homeostasis and the pathophysiology of these diseases, further investigations on the mechanisms that provide cellular and systemic adaptation to tissue Fe overload are instrumental for future therapeutic approaches.

Thus, we encourage our colleagues to submit original research papers, reviews, perspectives, methods and technology reports to contribute their findings to a current state of the art on a comprehensive overview of the importance of iron metabolism in pathophysiologic conditions.

Download ebook

PDF

EPUB

Share

Editors

Raffaella Gozzelino

Technical University of Atlantic

Paolo Arosio

University of Brescia

Impact

647,567 Total views

506,629 Article views

128,436 Article downloads

12,502 Topic views

Published In

Frontiers in Pharmacology

Drug Metabolism and Transport

About Frontiers Research Topics

With their unique mixes of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author.

Suggest a topic