The Role of Catalytic Iron in Acute Kidney Injury

[摘要] The pathologic effects of iron accumulation in tissue in iron-overload states, such as are described in patients with thalassemia, are widely known. What is new in the field is the recognition that iron plays an important role in the pathophysiology of tissue injury in the absence of systemic iron overload. Critical to iron's importance in biologic processes is its ability to cycle reversibly between its ferrous and ferric oxidation states. This precise property, which is essential for its functions, also makes it very dangerous because free iron can catalyze the formation of free radicals (1), which can damage macromolecular components of the cell.

[学科分类] 泌尿医学

[关键词] Bone marrow necrosis;Sickle cell disease;Hyperhemolysis syndrome