| RENAL PHYSIOLOGY |
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| Year : 2007 | Volume
: 17
| Issue : 4 | Page : 188-193 |
Role of non-transferrin-bound iron in chronic renal failure and other disease conditions
M Prakash
Department of Biochemistry, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka, India
Correspondence Address:
M Prakash
Department of Biochemistry, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal - 576104
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0971-4065.39169
Iron is an essential transitional metal required by the body for various biological functions. Iron is securely stored in ferritin and other biomolecules, either in ferrous or ferric state, and there are safe mechanisms for its storage or release from proteins to catalyze biological reactions. Under stress or some pathological conditions, there occurs the release of free iron or non-transferrin bound iron, which is free from its protein bound form, and it undergoes Fenton and Heiber-Weiss reactions to generate powerful reactive oxygen species. The reactive oxygen species generated will damage the biological macromolecules. It has been proved that in uremia or chronic renal failure patients, on conservative management or on hemodialysis program or under many other disease conditions, free iron or non-transferrin bound iron does exist; it induces damage to the biomolecules, thereby enhancing the disease process. In this review I have discussed the role of free iron or non-transferrin iron in general in biology and medicine, particulary in chronic renal failure.
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