This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Ong, D. S. T. Articles by Jeak Ling Ding Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ong, D. S. T. Articles by Jeak Ling Ding, Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The response of ferritin to LPS and acute phase of Pseudomonas infection

Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Lihui Wang

Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Yong Zhu

Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Bow Ho

Department of Microbiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Jeak Ling Ding

Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, dbsdjl{at}nus.edu.sg

Plasma ferritin is an important extracellular iron storage molecule, whose concentration increases drastically in cancer and infection. During infection, the pathogen usurps host iron for its survival and pathogenicity; hence, maintenance of the plasma ferritin level during infection is a crucial host defence mechanism. In this study, the horseshoe crab plasma ferritin complex was purified, characterized, and its involvement in innate immune defence was investigated. The plasma ferritin appears as a 21-kDa subunit on SDS-PAGE. Full-length ferritin-H cDNAs (CrFer-H1 and CrFer-H2) were cloned. Analysis of the 5' UTR indicates the existence of a functional iron-response element, suggesting that both the CrFer-H genes may be post-transcriptionally regulated. Northern analysis shows that the CrFer-H is ubiquitously expressed. Within 3 h of lipopolysaccharide challenge, the gene is up-regulated by > 12-fold. In contrast, iron-loading did not result in any significant change. When challenged with Pseudomonas aeruginosa , the plasma ferritin disappeared between 6—48 h and re-appeared thereafter, suggesting that during infection, ferritin may be concealed intracellularly as it withholds iron from the invading pathogen. Taken together, these results provide insights into the importance of plasma ferritin as an evolutionarily conserved molecule for the iron-withholding strategy of innate immunity.

Key Words: Plasma ferritin heavy chain • iron with-holding • Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection • lipopolysaccharide • innate immunity

Journal of Endotoxin Research, Vol. 11, No. 5, 267-280 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/09680519050110050301


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?