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Metal Transporters in Health and Disease
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Metal Transporters in Health and Disease

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 7245

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Toshiyuki Fukada

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima Bunri University, Tokushima 770-8514, Japan
Interests: zinc signaling; Slc39a/ZIP and Slc30a/ZnT zinc transporters; signal transduction; physiology; disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Mitchell D. Knutson

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0370, USA
Interests: iron; manganese; transporters; physiology; disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Moon-Suhn Ryu

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
Interests: iron metabolism; ferritinophagy; zinc homeostasis; ZIP/ZnT transporters; nutritional genomics; anemia
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Essential metals, such as zinc, iron and manganese, play a fundamental role in regulating the number of molecules; thus, their abnormal homeostasis causes damage in cells. On the other hand, cadmium and mercury are toxic metals, and cells must therefore control them to avoid cellular impairments.

The homeostasis of these essential and toxic metals is controlled by various transporters and channels. This Special Issue focuses on the recent developments of metal transporters from the perspectives of physiology, toxicology, and pharmacology, with the aim of understanding their biological relevance in human health and diseases, addressing the future directions and questions underlying their unique phenomenon, in particular their potential use as drug targets for human diseases.

Increasing discoveries and questions concerning the pathophysiological contribution of metal transporters highlight the rising attention and interest in this field of research. Therefore, we believe this Special Issue will provide appropriate information about the implications and mechanisms of metal dynamics for health and disease, and thus should appeal to a wide range of readers.

The 33rd Meeting of Japan Society for Biomedical Research on Trance Elements 2022 (BRTE2022, https://brte2022.jimdosite.com) will be held at Awaji-shima, Japan on the 8–10 September 2022. All attendees presenting a paper at this conference are welcome to submit a manuscript for publication. For further information, please contact the Editorial Office.

Prof. Dr. Toshiyuki Fukada
Prof. Dr. Mitchell D. Knutson
Prof. Dr. Moon-Suhn Ryu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • essential trace elements (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Se, etc.)
  • toxic elements (Cd, Hg, Pb, As, etc.)
  • transporters
  • channels
  • physiology
  • toxicology
  • pharmacology
  • disease

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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14 pages, 3245 KiB  
Article
Structure and Function of the Zinc Binding Protein ZrgA from Vibrio cholerae
by Daniel W. Valencia, Ady B. Meléndez, Isaac A. Melendrez and Erik T. Yukl
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(1), 548; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010548 - 29 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2134
Abstract
ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters are the primary means by which bacteria acquire trace elements from the environment. They rely on solute binding proteins (SBPs) to bind the relevant substrate and deliver it to the integral membrane permease for ATP-powered import into the [...] Read more.
ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters are the primary means by which bacteria acquire trace elements from the environment. They rely on solute binding proteins (SBPs) to bind the relevant substrate and deliver it to the integral membrane permease for ATP-powered import into the cytoplasm. SBPs of cluster A-I are known to facilitate the transport of essential metals zinc, manganese, and iron, and many have been characterized to date. A group of ABC transporter operons dubbed zinc-regulated genes (zrg) have recently been shown to transport zinc with putative SBPs (zrgA) bearing no homology to the classical cluster A-I family, and a recent crystal structure of a representative protein from Pseudomonas aeruginosa shows no structural similarity to classical SBPs. Thus, the ZrgA proteins appear to represent a newly discovered family of zinc SBPs widespread among Gram-negative bacteria, including human pathogens. Here, we have determined the crystal structure of ZrgA from Vibrio cholerae and characterized its zinc binding in vitro and function in vivo. We also assessed the role of a histidine-rich sequence that appears to be a hallmark of ZrgA proteins that is particularly long in V. cholerae ZrgA. The results show that the zrgA gene is critical to the function of the operon, consistent with a function as an SBP in this system. Further, the His-rich region is not essential to the function of ZrgA, but it does provide additional zinc binding sites in vitro. The structure and zinc binding data for ZrgA reveal interesting differences between it and its homologue from P. aeruginosa, illustrating diversity within this little-studied protein family. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Transporters in Health and Disease)
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Review

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16 pages, 3404 KiB  
Review
Zinc in Cardiovascular Functions and Diseases: Epidemiology and Molecular Mechanisms for Therapeutic Development
by Takafumi Hara, Emi Yoshigai, Takuto Ohashi and Toshiyuki Fukada
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(8), 7152; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24087152 - 12 Apr 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3774
Abstract
Zinc is an essential trace element that plays an important physiological role in numerous cellular processes. Zinc deficiency can result in diverse symptoms, such as impairment of the immune response, skin disorders, and impairments in cardiovascular functions. Recent reports have demonstrated that zinc [...] Read more.
Zinc is an essential trace element that plays an important physiological role in numerous cellular processes. Zinc deficiency can result in diverse symptoms, such as impairment of the immune response, skin disorders, and impairments in cardiovascular functions. Recent reports have demonstrated that zinc acts as a signaling molecule, and its signaling pathways, referred to as zinc signals, are related to the molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular functions. Therefore, comprehensive understanding of the significance of zinc-mediated signaling pathways is vital as a function of zinc as a nutritional component and of its molecular mechanisms and targets. Several basic and clinical studies have reported the relationship between zinc level and the onset and pathology of cardiovascular diseases, which has attracted much attention in recent years. In this review, we summarize the recent findings regarding the effects of zinc on cardiovascular function. We also discuss the importance of maintaining zinc homeostasis in the cardiovascular system and its therapeutic potential as a novel drug target. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Transporters in Health and Disease)
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