Abstract
The review aims at analyzing the present-day knowledge of iron-regulating molecules in microorganisms: their synthesis, secretion, the transport systems that facilitate iron uptake into the cell, the role of these molecules in the development of pathological processes in the human body, and the prospects for their use in developing a new generation of antimicrobial agents.
Material and Methods. The authors analyzed full-text articles published in PubMed/Medline from 2021 to 2026. The analysis included full-length articles only. A search for the term “iron-regulating molecules of microorganisms” yielded 78 articles for the specified period. 43 articles that did not correspond to the target topic were excluded from the total list. In total, the analysis included 34 publications found through electronic searching and 16 manually-retrieved articles.
Results. Iron is a mineral essential for the normal functioning of almost all forms of life, and pathogenic microorganisms are no exception. Acting as a cofactor, iron ions are involved in various biochemical processes: the synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, the regulation of virulence factor expression, the metabolism of reactive oxygen species; therefore, its bioavailability is crucial for the metabolism of bacteria and fungi. In the human body, the level of free iron ions is extremely low, since most of it is either in a stored state or bound to metabolic and transport molecules. Thus, despite the abundance of iron in the human body, the amount available to potential pathogens is negligible. To address this deficiency, many microorganisms have developed systems that allow them to thrive under the deficiency of this chemical element in the host organism. Conclusion. The main functions of iron-regulating molecules consist in converting iron bound to proteins or water-soluble compounds into an ionic form accessible to microorganisms. The loss of the ability to synthesize these molecules correlates with a loss of virulence in microorganisms.
Authors and affiliations
https://elibrary.ru/xcxfkq O.V. Boiko(1), A.A. Terentiev(2), A.A. Nikolaev(1), D.M. Kozak(1), Yu.A. Kriventsev(1),R.A. Bisalieva(1),,
R.I. Mukhamedzyanova(1), A.Kh. Akhmineeva(3), M.P. Ivanova(1), M.Yu. Medina(4), M.Yu. Kriventsev(1),
1-Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education “Astrakhan State Medical University” of the Ministry
of Health of Russia, Bakinskaya St., 121, Astrakhan, 414000, Russian Federation; 2-Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution
of Higher Education “Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University” of the Ministry of Health of Russia,
Ostrovityanova St., 1, Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation; 3Federal State Budgetary Military Educational Institution of Higher Education
“S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy” of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, Akademika Lebedeva St., 6Zh, Saint-Petersburg,
194044, Russian Federation; 4Astrakhan Clinical Hospital of the Federal State Budgetary Healthcare Institution “Southern District
Medical Center” of the Federal Medical Biological Agency of Russia, Anatoliya Sergeeva St., 13, Astrakhan, 414000, Russia
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