Iron uptake and transport

The transport of iron between cells is mediated by transferrin. However, iron can also enter and leave cells not only by itself, but also in the form of heme and siderophores. When entering the cell via the main path (by transferrin endocytosis), its goal is not the (still elusive) chelated iron pool in the cytosol nor the lysosomes but the mitochondria, where heme is synthesized and iron-sulfur clusters are assembled (Kurz et al,2008, Hower et al 2009, Richardson et al 2010).

Summary from Reactome (R-HSA-917937), read 2026-09-23.