Iron homeostasis in the lung

Iron homeostasis in the lung.

Iron is essential for many aspects of cellular function. However, it also can generate oxygen-based free radicals that result in injury to biological molecules. For this reason, iron acquisition and distribution are tightly regulated. Constant exposure to the atmosphere results in significant exposure of the lungs to catalytically active iron. The lungs have a mechanism for detoxification to pr...

The liver in regulation of iron homeostasis.

The liver is one of the largest and most functionally diverse organs in the human body. In addition to roles in detoxification of xenobiotics, digestion, synthesis of important plasma proteins, gluconeogenesis, lipid metabolism, and storage, the liver also plays a significant role in iron homeostasis. Apart from being the storage site for excess body iron, it also plays a vital role in regulati...

Orchestration of iron homeostasis.

Systemic iron homeostasis.

The iron hormone hepcidin and its receptor and cellular iron exporter ferroportin control the major fluxes of iron into blood plasma: intestinal iron absorption, the delivery of recycled iron from macrophages, and the release of stored iron from hepatocytes. Because iron losses are comparatively very small, iron absorption and its regulation by hepcidin and ferroportin determine total body iron...

Adaptation of iron homeostasis pathways by a Pseudomonas aeruginosa pyoverdine mutant in the cystic fibrosis lung.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients suffer from chronic bacterial lung infections, most notably by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which persists for decades in the lungs and undergoes extensive evolution. P. aeruginosa requires iron for virulence and uses the fluorescent siderophore pyoverdine to scavenge and solubilize ferric iron during acute infections. Pyoverdine mutants accumulate in the lungs of some ...