TY  - JOUR
A1  - Jung, Michaela
A1  - Mertens, Christina
A1  - Tomat, Elisa
A1  - Brüne, Bernhard
T1  - Iron as a central player and promising target in cancer progression
T2  - International journal of molecular sciences
N2  - Iron is an essential element for virtually all organisms. On the one hand, it facilitates cell proliferation and growth. On the other hand, iron may be detrimental due to its redox abilities, thereby contributing to free radical formation, which in turn may provoke oxidative stress and DNA damage. Iron also plays a crucial role in tumor progression and metastasis due to its major function in tumor cell survival and reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, pathways of iron acquisition, export, and storage are often perturbed in cancers, suggesting that targeting iron metabolic pathways might represent opportunities towards innovative approaches in cancer treatment. Recent evidence points to a crucial role of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) as a source of iron within the tumor microenvironment, implying that specifically targeting the TAM iron pool might add to the efficacy of tumor therapy. Here, we provide a brief summary of tumor cell iron metabolism and updated molecular mechanisms that regulate cellular and systemic iron homeostasis with regard to the development of cancer. Since iron adds to shaping major hallmarks of cancer, we emphasize innovative therapeutic strategies to address the iron pool of tumor cells or cells of the tumor microenvironment for the treatment of cancer.
KW  - iron homeostasis
KW  - lipocalin-2
KW  - macrophage polarization
KW  - tumor progression
KW  - iron chelators
Y1  - 2019
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/49073
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-490739
SN  - 1422-0067
SN  - 1661-6596
N1  - This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
VL  - 20
IS  - 2, Art. 273
SP  - 1
EP  - 18
PB  - Molecular Diversity Preservation International
CY  - Basel
ER  -