Background Serum albumin is the most abundant protein in the blood and cerebrospinal
fluid and plays a fundamental role in the distribution of essential transition metal ions in the …

The emergence of new pathogens and multidrug resistant bacteria is an important public
health issue that requires the development of novel classes of antibiotics. Antimicrobial …

BACKGROUND The peptide hormone hepcidin plays a central role in regulating dietary iron
absorption and body iron distribution. Many human diseases are associated with alterations …

The widespread occurrence of cadmium in the environment continues to pose a threat to
human health despite attempts at limiting its technological uses. The biologically significant …

Iron and copper have similar physiochemical properties; thus, physiologically relevant
interactions seem likely. Indeed, points of intersection between these two essential trace …

Copper, an essential trace element that exists in oxidized and reduced forms, has pivotal
roles in a variety of biological processes, including redox chemistry, enzymatic reactions …

Given their similar physiochemical properties, it is a logical postulate that iron and copper
metabolism are intertwined. Indeed, iron-copper interactions were first documented over a …

Identification of new players in iron metabolism, such as hepcidin, which regulates
ferroportin and divalent metal transporter 1 expression, has improved our knowledge of iron …

Antimicrobial peptides are short amphipathic peptides that are produced by the innate
immune system in order to protect a host from pathogens. They have been shown to have …

Iron efflux from mammalian cells is supported by the synergistic actions of the ferrous iron
efflux transporter, ferroportin (Fpn) and a multicopper ferroxidase, that is, hephaestin (Heph) …