Iron transport across cell membranes: molecular understanding of duodenal and placental iron uptake

Iron is an essential element playing a vital role in many cellular processes. This requirement is complicated by the fact that environmental iron is invariably present as insoluble Fe 3+ leading to poor bioavailability and toxicity, since even low concentrations of iron catalyse the production of da...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Best practice & research. Clinical haematology 2002-06, Vol.15 (2), p.243-259
Main Authors: Srai, S.K.S, Bomford, Adrian, McArdle, Harry J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
apical membrane
basolateral membrane
Biological Transport
Carrier Proteins
Cell Membrane - metabolism
crypt cell
DMT1
Duodenum - metabolism
Duodenum - ultrastructure
enterocyte
epithelial cell
Female
ferric reductase (Dcytb)
ferritin
ferroportin
hephaestin
hereditary haemochromatosis
HFE
Humans
In Vitro Techniques
IREG1
Iron - metabolism
iron deficiency
iron overload
iron transporters
MTP1
placenta
Placenta - metabolism
Placenta - ultrastructure
Pregnancy
syncytiotrophoblast
transferrin
transferrin receptor
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Summary:Iron is an essential element playing a vital role in many cellular processes. This requirement is complicated by the fact that environmental iron is invariably present as insoluble Fe 3+ leading to poor bioavailability and toxicity, since even low concentrations of iron catalyse the production of damaging reactive oxygen species. As a result organisms have evolved efficient uptake and transport systems to extract iron from their environment as well as ferritins that store iron in a non-toxic form. In higher organisms, the first membrane barrier encountered is the apical surface of the duodenal enterocyte, a specialized absorptive cell of the intestinal epithelium that undertakes vectorial transport of iron. Iron is initially solubilized by reduction and Fe 2+ is transported across the cell membrane by a carrier-mediated transport process. This is followed by intracellular transfer of iron to the basolateral enterocyte membrane with subsequent transfer and release of iron to transferrin in the portal blood. A second site of iron transport is at the placento–fetal barrier where similar principles operate. In this review we describe recently identified transmembrane transporters and associated accessory proteins responsible for iron transport at these two sites.
ISSN:1521-6926
1532-1924
DOI:10.1053/beha.2002.0003