Issue 9, 2016

The copper rush of the nineties

Abstract

The nineties witnessed the discovery of the copper ATPases, enzymes which transport copper across the cytoplasmic membranes of bacteria and eukaryotes. In the same decade, several other key components of copper homeostasis have also been discovered, like copper chaperones and plasma membrane copper transporters. This has finally led to a molecular understanding of two inherited human diseases related to copper: Menkes disease, manifested by systemic copper deficiency, and Wilson disease, caused by defective secretion of excess copper. A historic perspective and untold stories of the events leading up to these discoveries are presented here.

Graphical abstract: The copper rush of the nineties

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
29 apr 2016
Accepted
21 jul 2016
First published
21 jul 2016

Metallomics, 2016,8, 824-830

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