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The Ferritin Superfamily

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Macromolecular Protein Complexes

Part of the book series: Subcellular Biochemistry ((SCBI,volume 83))

Abstract

Iron is very important in many biological processes and the ferritin protein family has evolved to store iron and to maintain cellular iron homeostasis. The deletion of the coding gene for the H subunit of ferritin leads to early embryonic death in mice and mutations in the gene for the L subunits in humans has been observed in neurodegenerative diseases, such as neuroferritinopathy. Thus, understanding how ferritin works is imperative and many studies have been conducted to delineate the molecular mechanism of ferritins and bacterioferritins. In the ferritin protein family, it is clear that a catalytic center for iron oxidation, the routes for iron to reach this center and the ability to nucleate an iron core, are common requirements for all ferritins. However, there are differences in the structural and mechanistic details of iron oxidation and mineralization. Although a common mechanism has been proposed for all ferritins, this mechanism needs to be further explored. There is a mechanistic diversity related to structural variation in the ferritin protein family. It is clear that other factors appear to affect the mechanism of iron oxidation and mineralization. This review focusses on the structural features of the ferritin protein family and its role in the mechanism of iron mineralization.

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Abbreviations

AfFtn:

Archaeoglobus fulgidus ferritin

AvBFR:

Azotobacter vinelandii bacterioferritin

BFR:

Bacterioferritin

BfMF:

Bull frog M ferritin

CjFtn:

Campylobacter jejuni ferritin

CtFtn:

Chlorobium tepidum ferritin

DdBFR:

Desulfovibrio desulfuricans bacterioferritin

DFP:

Diferric peroxo

Dps:

DNA binding protein from starved cells

EcBFR:

Escherichia coli bacterioferritin

EcFtnA:

Escherichia coli ferritin A

FC:

ferroxidase center

HpFtn:

Helicobacter pylori ferritin

HoSF:

Horse spleen ferritin

HuHF:

Human H ferritin

HuLF:

Human L ferritin

HMFt:

human mitochondrial ferritin

ITC:

Isothermal titration calorimetry

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

MD:

Molecular dynamics

MtbBFrB:

Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterioferritin B

NMR:

Nuclear magnetic resonance

PaFtn:

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ferritin

PaBFR:

Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteriferritin

PfFtn:

Pyrococcus furiosus ferritin

PmFtn:

Pseudo-nitzschia ferritin

TmFtn:

Thermotoga maritima ferritin

VcFtn:

Vibrio cholerae ferritin

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  1. Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Alejandro Yévenes

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  1. Institute of Zoology, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany

    J. Robin Harris

  2. School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

    Jon Marles-Wright

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Yévenes, A. (2017). The Ferritin Superfamily. In: Harris, J., Marles-Wright, J. (eds) Macromolecular Protein Complexes. Subcellular Biochemistry, vol 83. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46503-6_3

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