Molecular insights into mechanisms of iron transport.

The past 3 years have witnessed extraordinary progress in our understanding of mammalian iron transport and homeostasis. The first transmembrane iron transporter has been found. Mutations in this protein, in two animal models with iron-transport defects, have helped to define the roles of this protein in vivo. The gene defective in patients with hereditary hemochromatosis has been identified, and much has been learned about the structure and function of its gene product. Finally, our ability to make a molecular diagnosis of hereditary hemochromatosis has called attention to new iron-loading disorders, including African iron overload and juvenile hemochromatosis.