Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:1.16.3.1 (ceruloplasmin)
 5,074 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Ceruloplasmin is an abundant alpha 2-serum glycoprotein that contains greater than 95% of the copper present in human plasma. It is synthesized mainly in the liver. Aceruloplasminemia is an autosomal recessive disorder affecting iron metabolism, originally called familial apoceruloplasmin deficiency, which manifests late-onset blepharospasm and retinal degeneration. Subsequent investigations have found patients with late adult onset of ataxia and diabetes mellitus. Our patients have also shown diabetes. Clinically, aceruloplasminemia is a triad consisting of neurologic disease, retinal degeneration, and diabetes. This disease is characterized by mutations in the ceruloplasmin gene and iron accumulation in the retina and basal ganglia as well as in parenchymal tissues caused by a complete deficiency of ceruloplasmin ferroxidase activity. The neurological symptoms in affected patients include involuntary movements, ataxia, and dementia reflecting the sites of iron deposition detected by MRI as well as the regions of neurodegeneration observed at autopsy. Consistent with this observation, ceruloplasmin gene expression is detected in the retina and basal ganglia revealing that this protein is essential for iron homeostasis neuron survival in the central nervous system. The unique involvement of the central nervous system distinguishes aceruloplasminemia from other inherited and acquired iron storage disorders.
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PMID:[Aceruloplasminemia]. 1146 82

In 1987, Miyajima et al. first characterized an autosomal recessive, adult-onset neurodegenerative disorder resembling Parkinson's disease associated with near-absent circulating serum ceruloplasmin levels. Coined "familial apoceruloplasmin deficiency", they described a patient with a presenting triad of diabetes mellitus, retinal degeneration, and neurodegeneration with blepharospasm. Neuropathological evaluation revealed abundant iron deposition in selected neurons of the basal ganglia and substantia nigra with associated neuronal dropout and spongioform degeneration without evidence of reactive gliosis. Subsequently, mutations in the ceruloplasmin gene have been determined to result in the excessive iron accumulation seen in the pancreas, retina, and brain. Elevated serum ferritin suggests a systemic iron overload syndrome, yet affected patients had low transferrin saturation and a mild anemia. This new disease, "aceruloplasminemia", reveals a role for ceruloplasmin as an essential ferroxidase critical for iron homeostasis. This multicopper oxidase promotes efficient iron efflux such that individuals lacking ceruloplasmin develop a presumed oxidative injury secondary to iron accumulation and significant neuronal damage. Aceruloplasminemic mice provide a valuable model to further study the mechanisms by which ceruloplasmin regulates iron trafficking and the role of iron in oxidative injury. Despite the dependence of ceruloplasmin on copper for its function, aceruloplasminemia represents an iron storage disease and not a defect in copper metabolism. However, recent evidence in Saccharomyces cerevisiae indicates that Fet3, the yeast homologue of ceruloplasmin, functions as an essential cuprous oxidase. Further investigation into the mechanisms by which ceruloplasmin regulates iron and copper homeostasis will provide valuable insight into the pathogenesis of metallo-mediated diseases and elucidate mechanisms for transition metal (copper, iron) neuropathology.
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PMID:Aceruloplasminemia: an inherited neurodegenerative disease with impairment of iron homeostasis. 1510 74