Some trace elements are essential nutrients across all domains of life, and concentrations deemed deficient or in excess have harmful effects on biological systems. Metals like copper, iron, and manganese can serve as cofactors in enzymes required for fundamental metabolic pathways like ATP generation, ribosome biogenesis, protein modification, and removal of reactive oxygen species. Still, others, like zinc, function as structural cofactors or modulate intracellular and extracellular signaling pathways. Some free trace metals, especially those that cycle through different oxidation states, are inherently toxic, so their uptake and distribution must be tightly controlled. From bacteria to mammals, organisms rely on membrane barriers, transport proteins, and several sensors and chaperones that collectively orchestrate metal homeostasis.
Although most of the fundamental mechanisms of general metal management and homeostasis have been identified in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, several unanswered questions remain. Cells manage metals primarily by nutrition, but these pathways are finely tuned during dynamic states such as in growth and development, health, disease, and/or symbiosis. Emerging technologies in the study of the metalloproteome, including refined cryo-electron microscopy, single-cell RNA-sequencing, and other high-throughput approaches, along with broader use of tissue development and regeneration studies in model and non-model systems, have set the stage to close the gaps in our knowledge of metal homeostasis. This Research Topic aims to collect studies that leverage novel techniques or biological systems to probe the fundamental mechanisms of metal homeostasis regulation. The repercussions of disrupted metal homeostasis in human health are of particular interest, including how metals relate to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurologic diseases.
We welcome articles containing both original research and reviews of the literature covering these topics:
• Regulation of and requirement for metals during cell and tissue growth, differentiation, and development of organisms
• Metal homeostasis in non-model organisms, such as those that have not been investigated extensively or are not easy to investigate
• New technical approaches to studying metals and metal distribution
• Roles of transition metals in health and disease
• Requirements of metals and metalloproteins during host-microbe interactions as well as bacterial and viral pathogenesis
Some trace elements are essential nutrients across all domains of life, and concentrations deemed deficient or in excess have harmful effects on biological systems. Metals like copper, iron, and manganese can serve as cofactors in enzymes required for fundamental metabolic pathways like ATP generation, ribosome biogenesis, protein modification, and removal of reactive oxygen species. Still, others, like zinc, function as structural cofactors or modulate intracellular and extracellular signaling pathways. Some free trace metals, especially those that cycle through different oxidation states, are inherently toxic, so their uptake and distribution must be tightly controlled. From bacteria to mammals, organisms rely on membrane barriers, transport proteins, and several sensors and chaperones that collectively orchestrate metal homeostasis.
Although most of the fundamental mechanisms of general metal management and homeostasis have been identified in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, several unanswered questions remain. Cells manage metals primarily by nutrition, but these pathways are finely tuned during dynamic states such as in growth and development, health, disease, and/or symbiosis. Emerging technologies in the study of the metalloproteome, including refined cryo-electron microscopy, single-cell RNA-sequencing, and other high-throughput approaches, along with broader use of tissue development and regeneration studies in model and non-model systems, have set the stage to close the gaps in our knowledge of metal homeostasis. This Research Topic aims to collect studies that leverage novel techniques or biological systems to probe the fundamental mechanisms of metal homeostasis regulation. The repercussions of disrupted metal homeostasis in human health are of particular interest, including how metals relate to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurologic diseases.
We welcome articles containing both original research and reviews of the literature covering these topics:
• Regulation of and requirement for metals during cell and tissue growth, differentiation, and development of organisms
• Metal homeostasis in non-model organisms, such as those that have not been investigated extensively or are not easy to investigate
• New technical approaches to studying metals and metal distribution
• Roles of transition metals in health and disease
• Requirements of metals and metalloproteins during host-microbe interactions as well as bacterial and viral pathogenesis