Iron Metabolism

Iron is of fundamental importance to the growth, development andwell-being of almost all living organisms. Multiple biologicalsystems have evolved for the uptake, utilisation, storage, andhomeostasis of iron in microbes, plants and mammals. Both irondeficiency and iron overload are found extensively in humans; theintimate links between iron and oxidative stress are associatedwith a wide range of pathologies. Iron has a well established rolein infections by a range of microorganisms and parasites. Othermetals such as copper and zinc are also closely linked with ironmetabolism. Iron overloads and deficiencies are important factorsin the health of humans and are therefore a key target in drugdevelopment. Iron Metabolism: From Molecular Mechanisms to ClinicalConsequences, 3rd Edition presents a comprehensive overview ofthis important field.Topics covered include: * Solution chemistry of iron in biological media * The importance of iron for biological systems * Microbial iron transport and metabolism * Iron uptake by plants and fungi * Cellular iron uptake and export in mammals * Intracellular iron storage and biomineralization * Intracellular iron metabolism and cellular ironhomeostasis * Iron absorption in mammals, with particular reference to man,and regulation of systemic iron balance * Pathophysiology of iron deficiency and iron overload inman * Iron and oxidative stress * Brain iron homeostasis and its perturbation in variousneurodegenerative diseases * Interactions between iron and other metals Written in a lively style by one of the leaders in the field andpresented in full colour, this third, expanded edition of IronMetabolism has been fully updated with the latest discoveries.Major additions include recent information on mitochondrial ironmetabolism and the role of frataxin; transcriptional control ofiron homeostasis; orally active iron chelators; the roles ofhepcidin and erythropoietin; the increasing number of types of ironoverload; and the importance of iron in Alzheimer'sdisease. Iron Metabolism is essential reading for researchers andstudents in biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, cellbiology, nutrition and the medical sciences. It will alsofind space on the bookshelves of bioinorganic chemists with aninterest in iron metabolism, health professionals with an interestin diseases of iron metabolism, and pharmacologists in thepharmaceutical industry interested in developing novel iron-bindingdrugs.