Biomaterial Database

Iron and immunologic function. 1987

C G Ward

University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida.

This short review focuses on the immunological functions of iron-containing compounds. Five such compounds--transferrin, haptoglobin, hemopexin, albumin, and lactoferrin--are thought to contribute to normal infection resistance. Experimental results that demonstrate the ability of these compounds to inhibit the growth of an important pathogen, Klebsiella pneumoniae, are discussed.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007109	Immunity	Nonsusceptibility to the invasive or pathogenic effects of foreign microorganisms or to the toxic effect of antigenic substances.	Immune Process,Immune Response,Immune Processes,Immune Responses,Process, Immune,Response, Immune
D007501	Iron	A metallic element with atomic symbol Fe, atomic number 26, and atomic weight 55.85. It is an essential constituent of HEMOGLOBINS; CYTOCHROMES; and IRON-BINDING PROTEINS. It plays a role in cellular redox reactions and in the transport of OXYGEN.	Iron-56,Iron 56
D007711	Klebsiella pneumoniae	Gram-negative, non-motile, capsulated, gas-producing rods found widely in nature and associated with urinary and respiratory infections in humans.	Bacillus pneumoniae,Bacterium pneumoniae crouposae,Hyalococcus pneumoniae,Klebsiella pneumoniae aerogenes,Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis
D007781	Lactoferrin	An iron-binding protein that was originally characterized as a milk protein. It is widely distributed in secretory fluids and is found in the neutrophilic granules of LEUKOCYTES. The N-terminal part of lactoferrin possesses a serine protease which functions to inactivate the TYPE III SECRETION SYSTEM used by bacteria to export virulence proteins for host cell invasion.	Lactotransferrin
D011485	Protein Binding	The process in which substances, either endogenous or exogenous, bind to proteins, peptides, enzymes, protein precursors, or allied compounds. Specific protein-binding measures are often used as assays in diagnostic assessments.	Plasma Protein Binding Capacity,Binding, Protein
D002056	Burns	Injuries to tissues caused by contact with heat, steam, chemicals (BURNS, CHEMICAL), electricity (BURNS, ELECTRIC), or the like.	Burn
D006242	Haptoglobins	Plasma glycoproteins that form a stable complex with hemoglobin to aid the recycling of heme iron. They are encoded in man by a gene on the short arm of chromosome 16.	Haptoglobin
D006466	Hemopexin
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000418	Albumins	Water-soluble proteins found in egg whites, blood, lymph, and other tissues and fluids. They coagulate upon heating.	Albumin