Iron and zinc sensing in cells and the body
This editorial introduces a collection of papers presented at a symposium at King’s College London in December 2013. The Iron Metabolism Research Group organized this meeting that focused on “zinc and iron sensing in cells and tissues.
Iron regulatory proteins and their role in controlling iron metabolism
Cellular and body iron homeostasis are regulated by iron-sensing and post-transcriptional feedback mechanisms, which control iron uptake, release, storage and heme biosythesis.
Relationship between the architecture of zinc coordination and zinc binding affinity in proteins – insights into zinc regulation
Relationship between the architecture and stability of zinc proteins.
Analyzing free zinc(II) ion concentrations in cell biology with fluorescent chelating molecules
Chelation-induced fluorescence changes in low molecular weight molecules (probes) and genetically encoded proteins (sensors) allow for measuring fluctuations of cellular zinc(II) ion concentrations.
Iron and oxygen sensing: a tale of 2 interacting elements?
Iron and oxygen metabolism are intimately linked with one another.
Iron-sensitive fluorescent probes: monitoring intracellular iron pools
Several iron-sensitive fluorophores have been investigated in a range of cell types in order to quantify iron(II) levels in the cytosol and the cytoplasm.
Genetically-encoded FRET-based sensors for monitoring Zn2+ in living cells
We discuss the development and application of genetically-encoded FRET sensors as attractive tools to study intracellular Zn2+ homeostasis and signaling.
About this collection
This collection of articles features work presented at a one day symposium at King’s College London in December 2013, the 45 th such meeting organised by the Iron Metabolism Group based as the college. The article collection is dedicated to iron and zinc sensing in cells and the body and is introduced in the Editorial by Professor Robert C. Hider and Professor Wolfgang Maret.