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In what clinical situation can a localised/specific iron chelation be utalised Willie. Just wondering!!.
The postualtion being put forward (in regards to hepcidin) is of iron restriction as a general "inate" immune mechanism. (I know you know Willie but just trying to reiterate the point maybe to others. If I can use the following analagee...
If the whole body was like a country that had stocked up its food (iron) during a drought. Suddenly this country is invaded by some outsiders who are looking to take this stock of food supply, grow in numbers and eventually take over the country (body). The country, as part of it security system has a special intelligence officer (hepcidin), who when detects the presence of these invaders (the signal for hepcidin being - TNF-alpha, IL6 and other cytokine produced by hepcidin's central
intelligence agency (CIA) collegues..the macrophages), sends the following message..the fellow looking after the food supply.
"We are being invade by an enemy force, make sure all the food supply doors are closed tight and do not let any of the food out of our stock pile, the "task force" ie the neutrophiles, lymphocytes (The acquired, specific immune system) are doing their best to rid our country of the enemy, once they have done so, I will let you know when we get open the doors to the food supply again"
Clinically the above analagee can be seen with the typical changes that can be seen with iron studies during and inflamation ie there is an increase in the storage form of iron and decrease iron availability.
Ferritin(iron storage protein) goes up
Transferrin saturation goes down
Serum iron decreases
Less iron is
released from macrophages.
Willie I just remember a talk at a conference I attended last year about some new research looking at specific or localised iron "starvation" (if i can use that word) being looked at in tumours, whereby the restriction of tumour cells to iron is being looked at as a possible mode of treatment....I really can't tell you anymore detail then that(can't remeber), but its interesting.
ciao
poyap
"hope you like the analagee"
mol william <w_mol2003@...> wrote:
I have found a paper regarding the inhibiton of bacterial
growth by iron starvation in vitro (attached file).
A study done in Sydney, Australia, using the bacteria,
Helicobacter pylori & published in Nov. 2003.
Iron starvation inhibits growth in the 'exponential'
growth phase but not in the 'stationary' growth phase.
Does this mean that iron depletion is more effective in
acute infection when growth of bacteria is high
(exponential phase)?
I think iron chelators that work specifically & locally
may be more beneficial than hepcidin or its analogues that
inhibits absorption of iron from the guts.
Any other ideas?
Thanks!
William
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