1. The unusual co-assembly of H- and M-chains in the ferritin molecule from the Antarctic teleosts Trematomus bernacchii and Trematomus newnesi
- Author
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Giorgi, Alessandra, Mignogna, Giuseppina, Bellapadrona, Giuliano, Gattoni, Maurizio, Chiaraluce, Roberta, Consalvi, Valerio, Chiancone, Emilia, and Stefanini, Simonetta
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FERRITIN , *PROTEIN analysis , *TREMATOMUS , *COLD adaptation , *LIVER , *SPLEEN , *HETEROCHAIN polymers - Abstract
Abstract: Ferritins from the liver and spleen of the cold-adapted Antarctic teleosts Trematomus bernacchii and Trematomus newnesi have been isolated and characterized. Interestingly, only H- and M-chains are expressed and no L-chains. The H-chains contain the conserved ferroxidase center residues while M-chains harbor both the ferroxidase center and the micelle nucleation site ligands. Ferritins have an organ-specific subunit composition, they are: M homopolymers in spleen and H/M heteropolymers in liver. The M-chain homopolymer mineralizes iron at higher rate with respect to the H/M heteropolymer, which however is endowed with a lower activation energy for the iron incorporation process, indicative of a higher local flexibility. These findings and available literature data on ferritin expression in fish point to the role of tissue-specific expression of different chains in modulating the iron oxidation/mineralization process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
- Published
- 2008
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