Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P02794 (ferritin)
 17,525 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Upon injury, prolonged inflammation and oxidative stress may cause pathological wound healing and fibrosis, leading to formation of excessive scar tissue. Fibrogenesis can occur in most organs and tissues and may ultimately lead to organ dysfunction and failure. The underlying mechanisms of pathological wound healing still remain unclear, and are considered to be multifactorial, but so far, no efficient anti-fibrotic therapies exist. Extra- and intracellular levels of free heme may be increased in a variety of pathological conditions due to release from hemoproteins. Free heme possesses pro-inflammatory and oxidative properties, and may act as a danger signal. Effects of free heme may be counteracted by heme-binding proteins or by heme degradation. Heme is degraded by heme oxygenase (HO) that exists as two isoforms: inducible HO-1 and constitutively expressed HO-2. HO generates the effector molecules biliverdin/bilirubin, carbon monoxide, and free iron/ferritin. HO deficiency in mouse and man leads to exaggerated inflammation following mild insults, and accumulating epidemiological and preclinical studies support the widely recognized notion of the cytoprotective, anti-oxidative, and anti-inflammatory effects of the activity of the HO system and its effector molecules. In this review, we address the potential effects of targeted HO-1 induction or administration of HO-effector molecules as therapeutic targets in fibrotic conditions to counteract inflammatory and oxidative insults. This is exemplified by various clinically relevant conditions, such as hypertrophic scarring, chronic inflammatory liver disease, chronic pancreatitis, and chronic graft rejection in transplantation.
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PMID:Heme oxygenase, inflammation, and fibrosis: the good, the bad, and the ugly? 2258 96

Hemochromatosis is a disorder of iron overload whereby there is toxic deposition of iron in various tissues and organs of the body. It can either be hereditary or secondary to some other underlying cause. Patients with mutations in the HFE gene are often predisposed to developing this disorder. It has a wide range of clinical presentation, from non-specific symptoms such as fatigue to overt development of cirrhosis, diabetes and skin pigmentation. We present an unusual case of hemochromatosis where an African-American female of child-bearing age presented to the emergency room with complaints of epigastric pain. She was found to have mildly elevated lipase and liver enzymes. Imaging studies were suggestive of acute-on-chronic pancreatitis with iron deposition in the spleen, pancreas and bone marrow. Her ferritin and transferrin saturation levels were elevated. She was diagnosed with acute-on-chronic pancreatitis secondary to alcoholism and hemochromatosis and treated with phlebotomy with good outcome. This case is one of the few reported cases of hemochromatosis in African-Americans, and emphasizes that even females in child-bearing age group can develop this condition. Elevated ferritin and transferrin saturation levels should prompt evaluation for this disorder.
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PMID:Hemochromatosis As an Unusual Cause of Pancreatitis in an African-American Female of Child-bearing Age. 3225 19


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