Iron and glutathione at the crossroad of redox metabolism in neurons

• PAULA ARACENA ^[1] ; PABLA AGUIRRE ^[1] ; PABLO MUÑOZ ^[1] ; MARCO T NÚÑEZ ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Chile

     Universidad de Chile

     Santiago, Chile

     
• Localización: Biological Research, ISSN-e 0717-6287, ISSN 0716-9760, Vol. 39, Nº. 1, 2006, págs. 157-165
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Neurons, as non-dividing cells, encounter a myriad of stressful conditions throughout their lifespan. In particular, there is increasing evidence that iron progressively accumulates in the brain with age and that iron-induced oxidative stress is the cause of several forms of neurodegeneration. Here, we review recent evidence that gives support to the following notions: 1) neuronal iron accumulation leads to oxidative stress and cell death; 2) neuronal survival to iron accumulation associates with decreased expression of the iron import transporter DMT1 and increased expression of the efflux transporter IREG1; and 3) the adaptive process of neurons towards iron-induced oxidative stress includes a marked increase in both the expression of the catalytic subunit of gamma glutamate-cysteine ligase and glutathione. These findings may help to understand aging-related neurodegeneration hallmarks: oxidative damage, functional impairment and cell death.