Iron: Key player in cancer and cell cycle?
Azmi Khan Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology Volume 62, December 2020,
Highlights
• Iron is essential for normal cellular metabolism.
• Excess of Iron leads to production of reactive oxygen species and damages cells.
• Iron deprivation has been noted to alter normal cell cycle progression.
• Cancerous cells have greater iron requirement.
• Iron chelators targets pathological conditions caused by imbalance in iron metabolism.
Background
Iron is an essential element for growth and metabolic activities of all living organisms but remains in its oxyhydroxide ferric ion form in the surrounding. Unavailability of iron in soluble ferrous form led to development of specific pathways and machinery in different organisms to make it available for use and maintain its homeostasis. Iron homeostasis is essential as under different circumstances iron in excess as well as deprivation leads to different pathological conditions in human.
Objective
This review highlights the current findings related to iron excess as well as deprivation with regards to cellular proliferation.
Conclusions
Iron excess is extensively associated with different types of cancers viz. colorectal cancer, breast cancer etc. by producing an oxidative stressed condition and alteration of immune system. Ironically its deprivation also results in anaemic conditions and leads to cell cycle arrest at different phases with mechanism yet to be explored. Iron deprivation arrests cell cycle at G1/S and in some cases at G2/M checkpoints resulting in growth arrest. However, in some cases iron overload arrests cell cycle at G1 phase by blocking certain signalling pathways. Certain natural and synthetic iron chelators are being explored from few decades to combat diseases caused by alteration in iron homeostasis.
