Ceruloplasmin Deficiency Impaired Brain Iron Metabolism and Behavior in Mice

The role of ferroptosis and its mechanism in ischemic stroke

Ischemic stroke is an acute cerebrovascular disease with a high morbidity, mortality, and disability rate. Persistent ischemia of brain tissue can cause irreversible damage to neurons, leading to neurological dysfunction and seriously affecting patients' quality of life. However, current clinical therapies are limited and have not achieved satisfactory outcome, due to the incomplete understanding of the mechanism of neuronal damage during ischemic stroke. Recent studies have found that ferroptosis is implicated in the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke. Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent regulated cell death driven by lipid peroxidation. Under normal physiological conditions, GSH/GPX4, FSP1/CoQ10, GCH/BH4 and other anti-ferroptosis pathways can function effectively to suppress the occurrence of ferroptosis. After ischemic stroke, two typical ferroptosis characteristics, lipid peroxidation and iron accumulation, are observed, accompanied by changes in the expression of ferroptosis related genes such as GPX4, ACSL4, and SLC7A11, suggesting that ferroptosis plays a key role in ischemic stroke, which provides a new idea for the clinical treatment of ischemic stroke. This article reviewed the pathological mechanisms of ferroptosis in the occurrence and development of ischemic stroke, as well as the related progress of ferroptosis targeted therapy.

Monitoring of Copper in Wilson Disease

(1) Introduction: Wilson's disease (WND) is an autosomal recessive disorder of copper (Cu) metabolism. Many tools are available to diagnose and monitor the clinical course of WND. Laboratory tests to determine disorders of Cu metabolism are of significant diagnostic importance. (2) Methods: A systematic review of the literature in the PubMed, Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library databases was conducted. (Results): For many years, Cu metabolism in WND was assessed with serum ceruloplasmin (CP) concentration, radioactive Cu test, total serum Cu concentration, urinary copper excretion, and Cu content in the liver. The results of these studies are not always unambiguous and easy to interpret. New methods have been developed to calculate non-CP Cu (NCC) directly. New parameters, such as relative Cu exchange (REC), reflecting the ratio of CuEXC to total serum Cu, as well as relative Cu exchange (REC), reflecting the ratio of CuEXC to total serum Cu, have been shown to be an accurate tool for the diagnosis of WND. Recently, a direct and fast LC-ICP-MS method for the study of CuEXC was presented. A new method to assess Cu metabolism during treatment with ALXN1840 (bis-choline tetrathiomolybdate [TTM]) has been developed. The assay enables the bioanalysis of CP and different types of Cu, including CP-Cu, direct NCC (dNCC), and labile bound copper (LBC) in human plasma. Conclusions: A few diagnostic and monitoring tools are available for patients with WND. While many patients are diagnosed and adequately assessed with currently available methods, diagnosis and monitoring is a real challenge in a group of patients who are stuck with borderline results, ambiguous genetic findings, and unclear clinical phenotypes. Technological progress and the characterization of new diagnostic parameters, including those related to Cu metabolism, may provide confidence in the more accurate diagnosis of WND in the future.