# MECHANISMS OF MICROBIAL IRON TRANSPORT

> **NIH NIH R01** · UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY · 1993 · $102,250

## Abstract

The least understood aspect of mammalian iron metabolism is the fate of the
metal in the cell cytosol.  Transferrin is taken into the cell and held in
specific compartments called CURL.  The exact mechanism by which the iron
is dissociated from the transferrin, the chemical form of iron that enters
the cytosol.  Furthermore, there is evidence that alternate reductive
mechanisms of iron transport are sometimes utilized for cellular uptake,
but such processes have been little investigated.  A simple model system is
lacking.

The protozoan, Tetrahymena pyriformis, will be utilized as a model of
animal iron transport.  This organism, like higher animals, packages
ingested iron in vacuoles from which the metal must pass through the
cytosol and into mitochondria.  A procedure for the rapid purification of
these vacuoles will be established.  Vacuoles will be isolated containing
different forms of iron ranging from microbial siderophores to transferrin.

The role of pH, cellular reducing agents, and hydrolytic enzymes in iron
solubilization and export into the cytosol will be investigated.  The
chemical form of iron in the cytosol will be determined and utilized in
studying iron uptake mechanisms by the mitochondria.  In addition to
providing a model for mammalian iron transport,  the knowledge obtained may
be relevant to the control of infectious diseases caused by protozoa.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3124587
- **Project number:** 5R01AI009580-19
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** SPE2YDWHDYU4
- **Principal Investigator:** STEVEN D. AUST
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $102,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1978-09-01 → 1995-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3124587

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3124587, MECHANISMS OF MICROBIAL IRON TRANSPORT (5R01AI009580-19). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3124587. Licensed CC0.

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