The Effect of Physiological Phosphate Concentrations on Iron Mineralization and Mobilization in Ferritin

Provost’s Award for Excellence in Student Research

In animals, the iron storage protein ferritin is composed of two distinct types of sub-units, called H for Heavy and L for Light.  These sub-units co-assemble in various ratios to form a highly stable 24-subunit nano-structure within which iron is stored. Because phosphate is naturally associated with the ferritin iron core, we thought to investigate the effect of phosphate on iron loading and release using several isoferritins having different proportions of H and L sub-units. Our results show that phosphate compete with ferritin for the rapid oxidation of ferrous ions to form soluble polymeric Fe(III)-phosphate complexes.  Increased doping of phosphate within the ferritin iron mineral enhanced the reductive mobilization of iron from ferritin, indicating a significant influence on the stability and the structure of the iron core. Overall, our data provide important insights into the role of phosphate toward the structure and reactivity of the ferritin iron mineral.   

• Student(s): Aliaksandra Reutovich
• Project Mentor(s): Fadi Bou-Abdallah
• L&RF 2021 Presentation-Reutovich
• L&RF 2021 Video Presentation-Reutovich