{"title":"A commentary on studies of brain iron accumulation during ageing","authors":"Mark J. Hackett","doi":"10.1007/s00775-024-02060-2","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Brain iron content is widely reported to increase during “ageing”, across multiple species from nematodes, rodents (mice and rats) and humans. Given the redox-active properties of iron, there has been a large research focus on iron-mediated oxidative stress as a contributor to tissue damage during natural ageing, and also as a risk factor for neurodegenerative disease. Surprisingly, however, the majority of published studies have not investigated brain iron homeostasis during the biological time period of senescence, and thus knowledge of how brain homeostasis changes during this critical stage of life largely remains unknown. This commentary examines the literature published on the topic of brain iron homeostasis during ageing, providing a critique on limitations of currently used experimental designs. The commentary also aims to highlight that although much research attention has been given to iron accumulation or iron overload as a pathological feature of ageing, there is evidence to support functional iron deficiency may exist, and this should not be overlooked in studies of ageing or neurodegenerative disease.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":603,"journal":{"name":"JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry","volume":"29 4","pages":"385 - 394"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11186910/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry","FirstCategoryId":"1","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00775-024-02060-2","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Brain iron content is widely reported to increase during “ageing”, across multiple species from nematodes, rodents (mice and rats) and humans. Given the redox-active properties of iron, there has been a large research focus on iron-mediated oxidative stress as a contributor to tissue damage during natural ageing, and also as a risk factor for neurodegenerative disease. Surprisingly, however, the majority of published studies have not investigated brain iron homeostasis during the biological time period of senescence, and thus knowledge of how brain homeostasis changes during this critical stage of life largely remains unknown. This commentary examines the literature published on the topic of brain iron homeostasis during ageing, providing a critique on limitations of currently used experimental designs. The commentary also aims to highlight that although much research attention has been given to iron accumulation or iron overload as a pathological feature of ageing, there is evidence to support functional iron deficiency may exist, and this should not be overlooked in studies of ageing or neurodegenerative disease.
期刊介绍:
Biological inorganic chemistry is a growing field of science that embraces the principles of biology and inorganic chemistry and impacts other fields ranging from medicine to the environment. JBIC (Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry) seeks to promote this field internationally. The Journal is primarily concerned with advances in understanding the role of metal ions within a biological matrix—be it a protein, DNA/RNA, or a cell, as well as appropriate model studies. Manuscripts describing high-quality original research on the above topics in English are invited for submission to this Journal. The Journal publishes original articles, minireviews, and commentaries on debated issues.