Ultrastructural aspects of iron storage, transport and metabolism

The iron storage proteins, ferritin and hemosiderin, enable electron microscopic visualization thanks to their electron-dense iron content, which is not present in other compounds involved in transport or metabolism of iron such as transferrin, lactoferrin, or hemoglobin. It is this electron density which contributed to the unraveling of stages in absorption, transport, deposition, storage, and release of iron. In recent years, additional methods of investigation have further supported the information achieved by the ultrastructural studies. Even while using new analytical methods, the seminal morphological observations remain valid for understanding the role of iron in health and disease. In this review, we will illustrate a few basic findings of electron microscopy in humans, experimental animals, and cell cultures. The importance of H chain ferritin as a transporter across the blood–brain barrier is just an example of a new role revealed for an “old” storage protein, explaining some controversial observations on the presence of iron in the brain.