Release Date: 25 September, 2001
Hardcover
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From the New England Journal of Medicine, August 29, 2002
This is a comprehensive, informative, and well-referenced monograph on the main proteins involved in iron metabolism, including transferrin, ferritin, lactoferrin, and the iron-transport proteins and on the relevant aspects of iron absorption and cellular iron metabolism. The book describes in detail the structure and function of each protein and discusses the structure and regulation of the corresponding genes in parallel. It also provides a detailed analysis of the differential expression and regulation of these proteins and of the mechanisms responsible for their coordinated control. There is an excellent chapter on the iron-responsive elements and the iron regulatory proteins. Numerous figures offer an integrated view of iron metabolism at the cellular and tissue levels and well illustrate the expression of the various genes involved in iron metabolism in different cell types. Recent progress in the area of iron storage and iron-transport proteins is well covered, as is the HFE gene, mutations in which are responsible for hereditary hemochromatosis. The role of the HFE protein is unknown, but it is clearly central to iron metabolism, and the possible role of this protein in iron absorption and metabolism is discussed. The unexpected functions of ferritin are of interest: they include the acquisition of multidrug-resistance properties with ferritin H overexpression, the possibility that ferritin H can act as a folate-catabolizing enzyme, and the possible role of ferritin in nitric oxide metabolism. There is a useful chapter on the soluble transferrin receptor and its clinical relevance. The case is made for its use in the diagnosis of iron deficiency in complicated clinical situations, such as infection, and for the use of the ratio of the serum transferrin receptor to ferritin in distinguishing the anemia of iron deficiency from the anemia of chronic disease. The editor has met the challenge of keeping the book up to date at the time of publication by including an excellent 32-page introduction (with 102 references). This introduction was presumably written or updated at the last minute and includes references to such recent advances as transferrin receptor 2, mitochondrial iron, frataxin, and hepcidin. It also includes a useful table summarizing the structure, function, known mutations, and resulting clinical phenotypes of the various proteins, including the iron transporters. Much interest is focused on the mechanisms and regulation of iron absorption, and the coverage of these topics is informative and up to date. One might question the inclusion of gastroferrin ("repudiated in several studies") and the emphasis given to mobilferrin (probably calreticulin with a controversial role), but the inclusion of these points illustrates the comprehensiveness of the book. The chapter on iron and cell proliferation and the relevance of iron to cancer is of particular interest, although I believe that the evidence in favor of iron as a causative factor in hepatocellular cancer is even stronger than that presented. Also of interest is the role of transferrin conjugates as novel therapeutic agents in the treatment of tumors -- an approach that takes advantage of the observation that several tumor types express elevated levels of transferrin receptors. An additional new application of transferrin involves its use in developing new techniques of gene transfer and gene therapy. This book will provide workers in the field of iron metabolism with comprehensive coverage and up-to-date references. It will also provide clinicians, especially gastroenterologists and hematologists, who have an interest in the disorders of iron metabolism with an easily readable and engaging account of recent advances in the scientific basis of the discipline. Lawrie W. Powell, M.D., Ph.D.
Copyright © 2002 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.
Book Description
Proteins of Iron Metabolism presents a clear picture of the structure and function of the main proteins involved in iron metabolism. The book gives you a detailed description of the structure and function of each protein, and discusses the structure and regulation of the corresponding genes in parallel. It supplies an analysis of the differential expression and regulation of these proteins.Numerous figures offer an integrated view of iron metabolism at the level of various tissues. The book delineates the mechanisms controlling cellular iron metabolism and shows how these mechanisms adapt to the differential and peculiar iron need of different cell types. Each chapter contains extensive bibliographical information providing a wide reference to the literature. The comprehensive coverage of the advances in understanding the mechanisms controlling cellular iron metabolism, especially at the molecular level, found in this book will give you insight into the regulation of iron metabolism. Proteins of Iron Metabolism fills the need for a clearly written, comprehensive review of the latest research, putting every thing you need in one easy-to-use resource.
Book Info
Insituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy. Covers the cellular and biochemical aspects of iron metabolism, details current developments in molecular and cellular biology and genetics, outlines molecular mechanisms responsible for the coordinated control of proteins, and analyzes progress in the area of iron storage and iron transporter proteins. DNLM: Hepatitis B virus. Rating
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