Biological complexity: moving iron through the body (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, September 02, 2022, 19:55 (813 days ago) @ David Turell

Using very complex molecules:

https://phys.org/news/2022-09-biochemists-reveal-complex-molecule-iron.html

"For years, scientists knew that mitochondria—specialized structures inside cells in the body that are essential for respiration and energy production—were involved in the assembly and movement of iron-sulfur cofactors, some of the most essential compounds in the human body. But until now, researchers didn't understand how exactly the process worked.

"New research, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that these cofactors are moved with the help of a substance called glutathione, an antioxidant that helps prevent certain types of cell damage by transporting these essential iron cofactors across a membrane barrier.

"Glutathione is especially useful as it aids in regulating metals like iron, which is used by red blood cells to make hemoglobin, a protein needed to help carry oxygen throughout the body, said James Cowan, co-author of the study and a distinguished university professor emeritus in chemistry and biochemistry at Ohio State.

"'Iron compounds are critical for the proper functioning of cellular biochemistry, and their assembly and transport is a complex process," Cowan said. "We have determined how a specific class of iron cofactors is moved from one cellular compartment to another by use of complex molecular machinery, allowing them to be used in multiple steps of cellular chemistry."

"Iron-sulfur clusters are an important class of compounds that carry out a variety of metabolic processes, like helping to transfer electrons in the production of energy and making key metabolites in the cell, as well as assisting in the replication of our genetic information.

***

"By using a combination of cryo-electron microscopy and computational modeling, the team was then able to create a series of structural models detailing the pathway that mitochondria use to export the iron cofactors to different locations inside the body. While their findings are vital to learning more about the basic building blocks of cellular biochemistry, Cowan said he's excited to see how their discovery could later advance medicine and therapeutics.

"'By understanding how these cofactors are assembled and moved in human cells, we can lay the groundwork for determining how to prevent or alleviate symptoms of certain diseases," he said. "We can also use that fundamental knowledge as the foundation for other advances in understanding cellular chemistry.'"

Comment: another example of extreme complexity of a mechanism vital to iron transport control. Not by chance!!!