IMR Press / FBL / Volume 25 / Issue 5 / DOI: 10.2741/4839

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Review
The role of iron in viral infections
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1 Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, NS, Canada
Send correspondence to Sophie Marion Schmidt, Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, NS, Canada, Tel: 902-494-1287, Fax: 902- 494-2493, E-mail: sophiemarschmidt@icloud.com
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2020, 25(5), 893–911; https://doi.org/10.2741/4839
Published: 1 January 2020
Abstract

Crucial cellular processes such as DNA synthesis and the generation of ATP require iron. Viruses depend on iron in order to efficiently replicate within living host cells. Some viruses selectively infect iron – acquiring cells or influence the cellular iron metabolism via Human hemochromatosis protein (HFE) or hepcidin. During infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) iron overload is associated with poor prognosis for the patient and enhanced progression of the disease. Recent findings still lack to fully describe the viral interaction with the host iron metabolism during infection. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the viral regulation on the host cell iron metabolism in order to discuss the therapeutic option of iron chelation as a potential and beneficial adjuvant in antiviral therapy.

Keywords
HBV
HCV
HIV
Iron
Immune system
HFE
iron chelation
Review
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