Tissue-Specific Regulation of Iron Metabolism and Heme Synthesis: Distinct Control Mechanisms in Erythroid Cells

IRON IS INDISPENSABLE for life, serving as metal cofactor for many enzymes, either nonheme or hemoproteins. In the latter, iron is inserted like a gem in the center of the heme prosthetic group. Hemoproteins are involved in a broad spectrum of crucial biologic functions including oxygen binding (