Regulation of intracellular iron levels in iron-acceptor and iron-donor cells

In recent years many new genes and proteins were identified with crucial fu nctions in iron metabolism. This gave an explosion of our knowledge and und erstanding of iron related disorders. Mutations have been found that are re sponsible for disturbances in iron transport, leading to either iron overlo ad or iron deficiency. For experts in the field, these new findings clarify the sky and open new routes for exploring hitherto hidden fields of resear ch. For the physician, however, iron metabolism may become even more compli cated. In this review, we have tried to assemble all new iron related genes into the context of pathophysiology. Important results from animal experim ents, mainly derived from knockout mouse models, are included in this revie w as they often explain the phenotype of human disease. (C) 2000 Elsevier S cience Ltd. All rights reserved.