Disease relevance of Ftmt

• The understanding of the role of mitochondrial ferritin in Fe oxidative metabolism may be useful in approaching clinical situations such as the treatment of Friedreich's ataxia, X-linked sideroblastic anemia, and in other neurodegenerative disorders [1].

High impact information on Ftmt

• Little is known about how mitochondrial iron homeostasis is maintained, although the recent discovery of a mitochondrial ferritin in mammals and plants has uncovered a potential key player in the process [2].
• A cytosolic iron starvation phenotype in MtFt-expressing tumors was revealed by increased RNA-binding activity of iron regulatory proteins, and concomitantly both an increase in transferrin receptor levels and a decrease in cytosolic ferritin [3].
• To examine the role of MtFt in cellular iron metabolism, we established a cell line that stably overexpresses mouse MtFt under the control of a tetracycline-responsive promoter [4].
• The characterization of recombinant and transfected mitochondrial ferritin indicated that this protein has a role in protecting mitochondria from iron-induced damage [5].
• Cytosolic ferritins in mammals are ubiquitous while mitochondrial ferritin expression is restricted mainly to the testis, neuronal cells and islets of Langherans [5].

Biological context of Ftmt

• Overexpression of mitochondrial ferritin causes cytosolic iron depletion and changes cellular iron homeostasis [4].
• This increased synthesis does not appear to involve the classical translational control since MtF mRNA lacks an apparent iron response element [6].
• Mitochondrial ferritin (MtF) is a novel H-type ferritin encoded by an intronless gene on chromosome 5q23 [6].

Anatomical context of Ftmt

• MtF does not seem to be an obligatory intermediate in transfer of free iron to heme and other iron compounds in mitochondria [6].
• In transfected HeLa cells added iron is incorporated as quickly into MtF as into cytosolic ferritin [6].
• In addition, increased levels of MtF cause a redistribution of iron from cytosol to mitochondria and this effect is enhanced by iron chelation [6].
• Based on the demonstration of the staining pattern of mitochondria in human germ cells and on preabsorption studies, we could demonstrate anti-cx33 antibody cross-reacting with mitochondrial ferritin, a protein localized in the mitochondria of human testicular spermatids [7].

Other interactions of Ftmt

• METHODS: Normal murine retinas were analyzed by immunohistochemistry to localize ferroportin, cytosolic ferritin, and mitochondrial ferritin, with double-labeling using cell-specific markers to identify cell types [8].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Ftmt

• Using tumor xenografts, we examined the effects of MtFt overexpression on tumor iron metabolism and growth [3].
• Mitochondrial iron deposition in MtFt-expressing tumors was directly observed by transmission electron microscopy [3].

References