1
|
Fonseca Ó, Ramos AS, Gomes LTS, Gomes MS, Moreira AC. New Perspectives on Circulating Ferritin: Its Role in Health and Disease. Molecules 2023; 28:7707. [PMID: 38067440 PMCID: PMC10708148 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28237707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The diagnosis of iron disturbances usually includes the evaluation of serum parameters. Serum iron is assumed to be entirely bound to transferrin, and transferrin saturation-the ratio between the serum iron concentration and serum transferrin-usually reflects iron availability. Additionally, serum ferritin is commonly used as a surrogate of tissue iron levels. Low serum ferritin values are interpreted as a sign of iron deficiency, and high values are the main indicator of pathological iron overload. However, in situations of inflammation, serum ferritin levels may be very high, independently of tissue iron levels. This presents a particularly puzzling challenge for the clinician evaluating the overall iron status of the patient in the presence of an inflammatory condition. The increase in serum ferritin during inflammation is one of the enigmas regarding iron metabolism. Neither the origin, the mechanism of release, nor the effects of serum ferritin are known. The use of serum ferritin as a biomarker of disease has been rising, and it has become increasingly diverse, but whether or not it contributes to controlling the disease or host pathology, and how it would do it, are important, open questions. These will be discussed here, where we spotlight circulating ferritin and revise the recent clinical and preclinical data regarding its role in health and disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Óscar Fonseca
- i3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; (Ó.F.); (A.S.R.); (L.T.S.G.); (M.S.G.)
| | - Ana S. Ramos
- i3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; (Ó.F.); (A.S.R.); (L.T.S.G.); (M.S.G.)
- FCUP—Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
- ICBAS—Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
| | - Leonor T. S. Gomes
- i3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; (Ó.F.); (A.S.R.); (L.T.S.G.); (M.S.G.)
- FCUP—Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
- ICBAS—Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria Salomé Gomes
- i3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; (Ó.F.); (A.S.R.); (L.T.S.G.); (M.S.G.)
- ICBAS—Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana C. Moreira
- i3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; (Ó.F.); (A.S.R.); (L.T.S.G.); (M.S.G.)
- ICBAS—Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal
- IBMC—Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wang C, Liu Q, Huang X, Zhuang J. Ferritin nanocages: a versatile platform for nanozyme design. J Mater Chem B 2023; 11:4153-4170. [PMID: 37158014 DOI: 10.1039/d3tb00192j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Nanozymes are a class of nanomaterials with enzyme-like activities and have attracted increasing attention due to their potential applications in biomedicine. However, nanozyme design incorporating the desired properties remains challenging. Natural or genetically engineered protein scaffolds, such as ferritin nanocages, have emerged as a promising platform for nanozyme design due to their unique protein structure, natural biomineralization capacity, self-assembly properties, and high biocompatibility. In this review, we highlight the intrinsic properties of ferritin nanocages, especially for nanozyme design. We also discuss the advantages of genetically engineered ferritin in the versatile design of nanozymes over natural ferritin. Additionally, we summarize the bioapplications of ferritin-based nanozymes based on their enzyme-mimicking activities. In this perspective, we mainly provide potential insights into the utilization of ferritin nanocages for nanozyme design.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chunyu Wang
- School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials for the Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, and Frontiers Science Center for Cell Responses, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
| | - Qiqi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials for the Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, and Frontiers Science Center for Cell Responses, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
| | - Xinglu Huang
- Key Laboratory of Bioactive Materials for the Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, and Frontiers Science Center for Cell Responses, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
| | - Jie Zhuang
- School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Su D, Li H, Zhou R, Zhao L, Li A, Liu X, Wang C, Jia X, Liu F, Sun P, Yan X, Zhu C, Lu G. Embedding Proteins within Spatially Controlled Hierarchical Nanoarchitectures for Ultrasensitive Immunoassay. Anal Chem 2022; 94:6271-6280. [PMID: 35417142 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c00269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Modulating the precise self-assembly of functional biomacromolecules is a critical challenge in biotechnology. Herein, functional biomacromolecule-assembled hierarchical hybrid nanoarchitectures in a spatially controlled fashion are synthesized, achieving the biorecognition behavior and signal amplification in the immunoassay simultaneously. Biomacromolecules with sequential assembly on the scaffold through the biomineralization process show significantly enhanced stability, bioactivity, and utilization efficiency, allowing tuning of their functions by modifying their size and composition. The hierarchically hybrid nanoarchitectures show great potential in construction of ultrasensitive immunoassay platforms, achieving a three order-of-magnitude increase in sensitivity. Notably, the well-designed HRP@Ab2 nanoarchitectures allow for optical immunoassays with a detection range from picogram mL-1 to microgram mL-1 on demand, providing great promise for quantitative analysis of both low-abundance and high-residue targets for biomedical applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dandan Su
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongxia Li
- Department of Food Quality and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Ri Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Lianjing Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Aixin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaomin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Chenguang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoteng Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Fangmeng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Peng Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Xu Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| | - Chengzhou Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide and Chemical Biology of Ministry of Education, International Joint Research Center for Intelligent Biosensing Technology and Health, College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, People's Republic of China
| | - Geyu Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Liu M, Zhu Y, Jin D, Li L, Cheng J, Liu Y. Hemin-Caged Ferritin Acting as a Peroxidase-like Nanozyme for the Selective Detection of Tumor Cells. Inorg Chem 2021; 60:14515-14519. [PMID: 34505770 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c01863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Nanozyme is a class of artificial materials that possess enzyme-like activities and can overcome limitations of natural enzymes. However, controllability of the active sites, uniformity of the particles, and dispersion in the physiological media are still challenging for nanomaterial-based nanozymes. In this work, a protein-based nanozyme has been constructed by the encapsulation of hemin into the nanocavity of a recombinant human heavy chain ferritin (Ftn), generating a monodispersed peroxidase-mimetic nanozyme (hemin@Ftn). Hemin@Ftn possesses high peroxidase catalytic activity and high tolerance to the harsh environmental conditions, such as high temperature and chemical denaturant. Remarkably, hemin@Ftn can act as a colorimetric probe for the detection of tumor cells because it can selectively catalyze reactions in tumor cells. This protein-based nanozyme bridges the gap between natural enzymes and nanomaterial-based nanozymes by the incorporation of a catalytically active prosthetic group into a highly stable Ftn.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manman Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Mater Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China. Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
| | - Yang Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Mater Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China. Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
| | - Duo Jin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Mater Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China. Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
| | - Li Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Mater Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China. Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
| | - Junjie Cheng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Mater Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China. Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
| | - Yangzhong Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Mater Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China. Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Jiang B, Jia X, Ji T, Zhou M, He J, Wang K, Tian J, Yan X, Fan K. Ferritin nanocages for early theranostics of tumors via inflammation-enhanced active targeting. SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES 2021; 65:328-340. [PMID: 34482518 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-021-1976-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Engineered nanocarriers have been widely developed for tumor theranostics. However, the delivery of imaging probes or therapeutic drugs to the tumor pre-formation site for early and accurate detection and therapy remains a major challenge. Here, by using tailor-functionalized human H-ferritin (HFn), we developed a triple-modality nanoprobe IRdye800-M-HFn and achieved the early imaging of tumor cells before the formation of solid tumor tissues. Then, we developed an HFn-doxorubicin (Dox) drug delivery system by loading Dox into the HFn protein cage and achieved early-stage tumor therapy. The intravenous injection of HFn nanoprobes enabled the imaging of tumor cells as early as two days after tumor implantation, and the triple-modality imaging techniques, namely, near-infrared fluorescence molecular imaging (NIR-FMI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and photoacoustic imaging (PAI), ensured the accuracy of detection. Further exploration indicated that HFn could specifically penetrate into pre-solid tumor sites by tumor-associated inflammation-mediated blood vessel leakage, followed by effective accumulation in tumor cells by the specific targeting property of HFn to transferrin receptor 1. Thus, the HFn-Dox drug delivery system delivered Dox into the tumor pre-formation site and effectively killed tumor cells at early stage. IRDye800-M-HFn nanoprobes and HFn-Dox provide promising strategies for early-stage tumor diagnosis and constructive implications for early-stage tumor treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bing Jiang
- Nanozyme Medical Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Nanozyme, Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Xiaohua Jia
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Tianjiao Ji
- CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials & Nanosafety, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China
- Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Meng Zhou
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Nanozyme, Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Jiuyang He
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Nanozyme, Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Kun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Jie Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data-Based Precision Medicine, School of Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China.
| | - Xiyun Yan
- Nanozyme Medical Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Nanozyme, Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Kelong Fan
- Nanozyme Medical Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Nanozyme, Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| |
Collapse
|