Abstract
Copper is an essential micronutrient for life. It is require by a wide range of species, from bacteria to yeast, plants and mammals including humans. To prevent the consequences of the deficit or excess of copper, living organisms have developed cellular mechanisms that regulate the uptake, efflux, storage and use of the metal. Several diseases are consequences of defects in such biological systems. Copper intake is reduce in elderly people, in some cases leading to two mayor problems for the human health . As co-factor of several antioxidant enzymes, reduction in the concentration of this metal directly affect the protective activity of these proteins, decreasing the capacity of the organism to counteract the oxidative stress damage, affecting the inflammatory/immune response and affecting the functioning of the central nervous system functioning through its participation as neurotransmitter and the ubiquitin proteasome system . Chronic copper toxicity is rare and primarily affects the liver. Wilson’s disease and Indian childhood cirrhosis are examples of severe chronic liver disease that results from the genetic predisposition to the hepatic accumulation of copper. By the other hand, Alzheimer and Parkinson disease are examples of neurodegenerative disorder that may course with an alteration in copper metabolism . Finally, it had been developed new technology in order to study the role of copper on the ageing, highlighting advances in the field of system biology and transcriptomic.
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Arredondo, M., González, M., Latorre, M. (2018). Copper. In: Malavolta, M., Mocchegiani, E. (eds) Trace Elements and Minerals in Health and Longevity. Healthy Ageing and Longevity, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03742-0_2
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