Structural highlights
Function
[FRI1_LITCT] Stores iron in a soluble, non-toxic, readily available form. Important for iron homeostasis. Has ferroxidase activity. Iron is taken up in the ferrous form and deposited as ferric hydroxides after oxidation.[1]
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
How and where iron exits from ferritin for cellular use is unknown. Twenty-four protein subunits create a cavity in ferritin where iron is concentrated >10(11)-fold as a mineral. Proline substitution for conserved leucine 134 (L134P) allowed normal assembly but increased iron exit rates. X-ray crystallography of H-L134P ferritin revealed localized unfolding at the 3-fold axis, also iron entry sites, consistent with shared use sites for iron exit and entry. The junction of three ferritin subunits appears to be a dynamic aperture with a "shutter" that cytoplasmic factors might open or close to regulate iron release in vivo.
Localized unfolding at the junction of three ferritin subunits. A mechanism for iron release?,Takagi H, Shi D, Ha Y, Allewell NM, Theil EC J Biol Chem. 1998 Jul 24;273(30):18685-8. PMID:9668036[2]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Takagi H, Shi D, Ha Y, Allewell NM, Theil EC. Localized unfolding at the junction of three ferritin subunits. A mechanism for iron release? J Biol Chem. 1998 Jul 24;273(30):18685-8. PMID:9668036
- ↑ Takagi H, Shi D, Ha Y, Allewell NM, Theil EC. Localized unfolding at the junction of three ferritin subunits. A mechanism for iron release? J Biol Chem. 1998 Jul 24;273(30):18685-8. PMID:9668036
