Novel iron overload assessment technique
Iron, as an important component of the oxygen carrier haemoglobin and its muscle counterpart, myoglobin is an essential mineral for health. The deficiency disease anaemia is a debilitating condition. Likewise, the situation for iron overloaded patients can be equally, if not more serious. Individuals who have a diet with a copious amount of red meat or hereditary diseases such as haemochromatosis or thalassaemia may suffer from an iron overload situation. In these cases, loosely bound iron appears in the plasma and is redox active. In this form it can compromise the components of body fluids and cells. Non-transferrin-bound-iron (NTBI) and a major component, LPI (labile plasma iron) can permeate cells in an uncontrolled manner to cause tissue damage in vital organs. If not treated, this can cause an overload in critical tissues such as heart and liver with deleterious results. Accordingly, project partners in NUTRIENT IRON TOXICI have developed novel fluorimetric tests FeRiskTM and FeRosTM for the detection for the two molecular rogues, NTBI and LPI, respectively. These have been developed into kit form. Once the problem is diagnosed, the patient can be treated with chelators that mop up the excess iron and avoid tissue damage. Further research, also by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, investigated the means of transport by endocytosis of both LPI and chelators, into iron sensitive tissue such as liver and heart cells. Endocytosis is a means by which cells engulf and take in materials using their own membranes. This information could act as a platform for the development of novel chelators of commercial value, possibly targeted to the cell type. Haemochromatosis is one of the most common inheritable genetic defects, especially in people of northern European extraction. As such, this research could be invaluable for the therapeutic treatment of iron metabolism disorders as well as dietary management.
