Cardiosiderosis is a leading cause of mortality in transfusion-dependent thalassemias. Plasma non-transferrin-bound iron and its redox-active component, labile plasma iron, are key sources of iron loading in cardiosiderosis. Risk factors were identified in 73 patients with or without cardiosiderosis. Soluble transferrin receptor-1 levels were significantly lower in patients with cardiosiderosis...

A mechanism is proposed by which apotransferrin is secreted from mucosal cells, loaded with iron in the intestinal lumen, and then the intact complex is taken into the cell. Within the cell, iron is released and transferred to the blood stream, whereas iron-free transferrin returns to the brush border to be recycled. We have investigated this hypothesis by measuring intestinal absorption of rad...

Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis both recognize and bind the human iron-transporting glycoprotein, transferrin, via a 42-kDa cell surface protein receptor. In an iron-deficient medium, staphylococcal growth can be promoted by the addition of human diferric transferrin but not human apotransferrin. To determine whether the staphylococcal transferrin receptor is involved in th...

We have investigated the mechanism of manganese ion uptake by apo-transferrin using a capillary electrophoresis method, and obtained clear evidence that oxidation state +3 and the binuclear unit of a manganese chelate are essential factors for the facile uptake by apotransferrin, similar to that observed for Fe(III) chelates. These results may give valuable information to understand the pathoge...