A comparative study on iron sources for mitochondrial haem synthesis including ferritin and models of transit pool species

Direct observation of iron-induced conformational changes of mitochondrial DNA by high-resolution field-emission in-lens scanning electron microscopy

When respiring rat liver mitochondria are incubated in the presence of Fe(III) gluconate, their DNA (mtDNA) relaxes from the supercoiled to the open circular form dependent on the iron dose. Anaerobiosis or antioxidants fail to completely inhibit the unwinding. High-resolution field-emission in-lens scanning electron microscopy imaging, in concert with backscattered electron detection, pinpoints nanometer-range iron colloids bound to mtDNA isolated from iron-exposed mitochondria. High-resolution field-emission in-lens scanning electron microscopy with backscattered electron detection imaging permits simultaneous detailed visual analysis of DNA topology, iron dose-dependent mtDNA unwinding, and assessment of iron colloid formation on mtDNA strands.

Two types of receptors for iron on mitochondria

ATP, the major ligand for Fe in the reticulocyte's low-Mr chelatable pool, transfers Fe to a mitochondrial receptor from which the Fe is incorporated into haem. However, the utilization of Fe bound to this receptor for haem synthesis is slow in comparison with that bound to a second receptor that does not accept Fe from ATP, but does accept it from AMP. The major pathway by which Fe is delivered for haem synthesis may be through hydrolysis of cytosolic ATP-Fe to AMP-Fe.

Iron-reductases in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Several NAD(P)H-dependent ferri-reductase activities were detected in sub-cellular extracts of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Some were induced in cells grown under iron-deficient conditions. At least two cytosolic iron-reducing enzymes having different substrate specificities could contribute to iron assimilation in vivo. One enzyme was purified to homogeneity: it is a flavoprotein (FAD) of 40 kDa that uses NADPH as electron donor and Fe(III)-EDTA as artificial electron acceptor. Isolated mitochondria reduced a variety of ferric chelates, probably via an 'external' NADH dehydrogenase, but not the siderophore ferrioxamine B. A plasma membrane-bound ferri-reductase system functioning with NADPH as electron donor and FMN as prosthetic group was purified 100-fold from isolated plasma membranes. This system may be involved in the reductive uptake of iron in vivo.

Regulatory aspects of placental iron transfer--a comparative study

Receptor-mediated endocytosis is generally assumed to be the process by which the haemochorial placenta takes up iron from transferrin. The involvement of an additional nonendocytic process cannot, however, be excluded. It appears from a study of iron transport mechanisms and of the maturation of the transfer process that placental ferritin is involved in the transfer of iron from mother to fetus. The metabolic relationship between the ferritin pool and the placental transfer pool remains to be elucidated. There is no evidence for short-term regulation of placental transfer capacity in response to changes in the maternal iron supply or to changes in the trophoblastic iron content. This cannot yet be said of fetal feedback control of placental iron uptake because the experiments performed so far do not permit conclusions on this point. The capacity for iron uptake and transfer seems to increase in accordance with the ontogenetically determined placental growth pattern. This does not exclude long-range adaptive modifications of the transfer capacity in response to early maternal or fetal disturbances. The results obtained from studying placental maturation suggest that a possible long-term regulatory interaction between growing placenta and fetus may occur. Clinical evidence so far is inconclusive. The relatively moderate reductions in the fetal iron stores which are generally associated with severe iron-deficient pregnancies might be seen as an argument in favour of long-term placental control. The marked impact of pregnancy on maternal iron metabolism in rodents, as compared to other mammals, is possibly met by means of direct placental control of mucosal iron uptake. In primates, mucosal iron uptake during pregnancy seems to be governed by factors related to systemic iron deficiency only.