Metals, Metalloproteins and Disease

            Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) is a disease characterized by being more susceptible to β-Human Papillomaviruses (HPV), which is a strain of HPV. The primary clinical symptom is the formation of tons of wart-like lesions on patients. In one case, a man with EV had an operation to undergo the removal of 12 pounds (~5.5 kilos) … Read more

Since the pioneering treatments employed by Dr. William B. Coley, bacteria have been proposed as a mode of late-stage cancer immunotherapy. Bacteria provide multiple advantages in cancer treatment: direct killing of cancer cells through production toxins, increased host inflammation to help host immune cells kill cancer cells, and effective removal of bacterial treatments through antibiotics … Read more

Metals are essential for the normal activity of all living beings. Besides their involvement in oxygen storage and role in many essential proteins, they are also utilized by the immune system to kill invading pathogens. While a sustained diet of metals is necessary, an overaccumulation of metals can lead to errant protein function and DNA … Read more

Copper is an essential nutrient for all living beings. However, accumulating excess copper can lead to toxicity due to its highly reactive nature. In humans, immune cells leverage this toxicity to kill pathogens, transporting excess copper to pathogens and inducing copper-based killing. Macrophages are an immune cell subset involved in the killing of extracellular pathogens. … Read more

Zinc is the second most abundant trace mineral in the body, and is commonly found in red meat, poultry, beans, breakfast cereals, and oysters. In our bodies, Zinc helps make proteins and support our cell structure. It plays a big role in our brains aiding in the development and maintenance of cell communication in the … Read more

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily affecting the motor cortex and brain stem nuclei, leading to muscle atrophy, and sometimes language problems, behavioral changes and executive disfunction. Cytoskeletal defects leading to impaired neuronal transport, changes in RNA metabolism resulting in protein aggregates, impaired autophagy and mitochondrial dysfunction all serve as cellular … Read more

Alzheimer’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease most commonly characterized through the formation of beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and the development of neurofibrillary tangles caused by the hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein. Both of these pathways ultimately result in the formation of protein aggregates that lead to the degeneration and loss of neurons. Zinc plays a role … Read more

The immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, organs that work together to protect the body against bacteria, viruses, fungus, cancer cells and many other pathogens or external agents with the capacity to cause damage to the body. One of the first lines of defense for this complex system are macrophages. They are … Read more

Iron is an important transition element and it is essential for several biological processes due to its inherent redox properties, like oxygen and electron transport, and are required by several enzymes. Iron is present in the circulation bound to the plasma iron carrier protein transferrin. Under iron overload conditions iron can also exist in the … Read more