Carbonate: Key to Transferrin Chemistry

Abstract

Transferrin, the serum iron transport protein, has three important functions. First, to sequester iron; second, to transport it in a form that is nontoxic and unavailable to the nonspecific complexing agents of serum; and third, to release iron to specific receptor sites on cell membranes. The chemistry of transferrin is a reflection of these physiological functions. Current topics in transferrin research are presented in the proceedings of the recent European Biology Organization Workshop on Iron Proteins (1).