Iron Regulates Immunity
Iron underpins conserved metabolic processes across all Kingdoms of life but is difficult for cells to assimilate from the environment. As such, it is the nutrient that is most competed for during host-pathogen interactions, with consequences for both.

The inflammatory response to infection incorporates a multi-faceted defence of the host’s iron resources, and success or failure of these protective mechanisms can determine the lethality of infections.

Furthermore, genetic, mechanistic, experimental and clinical data demonstrate that iron is required for innate and adaptive immune responses, and that iron-dependent biochemical processes are crucial for metabolic programming of immune cells.

Because iron deficiency is the world’s most common micronutrient disorder these findings have implications for immune responses to infections, vaccinations and immunotherapies in human populations and specific disease conditions where iron deficiency is particularly prevalent.
Date: 23 May 2023, 9:30 (Tuesday, 5th week, Trinity 2023)
Venue: Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Headington OX3 7BN
Venue Details: Room A+B
Speaker: Prof Hal Drakesmith (WIMM HIU)
Organisers: Prof Tao Dong (CAMS Oxford Institute, University of Oxford), Dr Ricardo Fernandes (CAMS Oxford Institute, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: coi.admin@ndm.ox.ac.uk
Hosts: Prof Tao Dong (CAMS Oxford Institute, University of Oxford), Dr Ricardo Fernandes (CAMS Oxford Institute, University of Oxford)
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Xiaowei Jie