Ascorbic acid enhances ferritin mRNA translation by an IRP/aconitase switch - PubMed (original) (raw)

. 1995 Aug 18;270(33):19540-4.

doi: 10.1074/jbc.270.33.19540.

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Ascorbic acid enhances ferritin mRNA translation by an IRP/aconitase switch

I Toth et al. J Biol Chem. 1995.

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Abstract

Replenishment of ascorbate in cultured cells, which are almost uniformly vitamin-deficient, increases ferritin mRNA translation in response to iron by 20-fold (Toth, I., Rogers, J. T., McPhee, J. A., Elliott, S. M., Abramson, S. L., and Bridges, K. R. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 2846-2852). We now demonstrate that ascorbate increases cytosolic aconitase activity. The iron-responsive element-binding protein (IRP-1) exists in three states: bound to mRNA without aconitase activity, free in the cytosol without aconitase activity, and free in the cytosol with aconitase activity. Ascorbate converts free IRP-1 to the enzymatically active form. Enhanced ferritin synthesis with subsequent iron stimulation is due to the altered equilibrium of the free IRP-1. The cellular biology of iron is closely intertwined with that of ascorbate.

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