Iron uptake, utilization and storage in mice

小鼠对铁的摄取、利用和储存全铁缺乏与生命不相容，而铁过量则具有危险的毒性。因此，哺乳动物体内的铁水平被严格维持在平衡状态。铁的新陈代谢受到调控，从而提供足够的铁来满足身体的需要(几乎每个细胞，特别是红细胞)，同时通过安全地储存在专门的分子中来避免其毒性，因为游离铁可以参与自由基的形成。总体而言，我们的目标是了解细胞和生物如何调节它们的铁含量，以及不同的组织如何协调铁的分布，以应对铁稳态的改变。我们建议解开铁稳态的几个基本方面：细胞铁摄取、肠道铁吸收和脑铁代谢的调节。我们期待这项基础性研究将为铁生物学和动物生理学领域做出重大贡献。由于铁代谢与哺乳动物有显著的相似之处，而且铁对生物系统是必不可少的，因此通过研究小鼠的铁代谢所获得的知识很可能与更多的应用领域有关，如人类健康和畜牧业。

Iron uptake, utilization and storage in mice Total iron deficiency is incompatible with life, whereas iron excess is dangerously toxic. Thus, body iron levels in mammals are tightly maintained in balance. Iron metabolism is regulated such that sufficient iron is provided for body needs (to virtually every cell and, in particular, red blood cells), but at the same time avoiding its toxicity through safe storage in specialized molecules, because free iron can participate in the formation of free radicals.   Overall, we aim to understand how cells and organisms regulate their iron content, and how distinct tissues coordinate iron distribution in response to altered iron homeostasis. We propose to unravel several essential aspects of iron homeostasis: the regulation of cellular iron uptake, intestinal iron absorption, and brain iron metabolism. We expect that this fundamental research will make significant contributions to the field of iron biology and animal physiology. Because iron metabolism shares remarkable similarities in mammals and iron is essential for biological systems, the knowledge gained by studying iron metabolism in mice may very well become pertinent to more applied fields, such as human health and animal husbandry.