ABSTRACT
This chapter examines data relating to the hypothesis that iron and iron-containing proteins possess definable immunoregulatory properties. The immunoregulatory properties of iron and its binding proteins have been investigated primarily in vitro. Antigenic specificity of the T-cell receptor for antigen is conferred by a heterodimeric complex of an alpha and a beta molecule which is able to recognize foreign antigen on antigen-presenting cells in an MHC-restricted manner. An interesting report on the effects of chronic iron deficiency in patients with polycythemia vera treated exclusively with venesection for periods as long as 15 years showed no increased incidence of bacterial or other infections. Hereditary hemochromatosis is an histocompatibility complex-linked, recessively transmitted, disease that involves inappropriately high intestinal iron absorption. The molecular mechanism(s) responsible for the described immunoregulatory properties of iron and the proteins that bind iron are incompletely understood. The following discussion will review the various mechanisms that may be involved in iron’s immunoregulatory effect and emphasize those needing additional information.
