Expert Reviews in Molecular Medicine: http://www.expertreviews.org/
DOI: 10.1017/S1462399407000531; 5 December 2007
Gaetano Cairo and Stefania Recalcati (2007) Iron-regulatory proteins: molecular biology and pathophysiological implications. Expert Rev. Mol. Med. Vol. 9, Issue 33, DOI: 10.1017/S1462399407000531

Iron-regulatory proteins: molecular biology and pathophysiological implications

Gaetano Cairo ^{a1 c1} and Stefania Recalcati ^a1

^a1 Institute of General Pathology, University of Milan School of Medicine, Milan, Italy.

^c1 Corresponding author: Gaetano Cairo, Institute of General Pathology, University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli 31, 20133 Milan, Italy. Tel: +39 0250315350; Fax: +39 0250315338; E-mail: gaetano.cairo@unimi.it

Iron is required for key cellular functions, and there is a strong link between iron metabolism and important metabolic processes, such as cell growth, apoptosis and inflammation. Diseases that are directly or indirectly related to iron metabolism represent major health problems. Iron-regulatory proteins (IRPs) 1 and 2 are key controllers of vertebrate iron metabolism and posttranscriptionally regulate expression of the major iron homeostasis genes. Here we discuss how dysregulation of the IRP system can result from both iron-related and unrelated effectors and explain how this can have important pathological consequences in several human disorders.

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