Iron
Iron is a chemical element and biologically relevant metal ion rather than a gene; the supplied Wikidata identifier, Q677, corresponds to iron.
Iron is a chemical element and biologically relevant metal ion rather than a gene; the supplied Wikidata identifier, Q677, corresponds to iron. In biomedical research, iron is examined through its redox-active forms, particularly ferrous iron (Fe²⁺) and ferric iron (Fe³⁺), its participation in iron homeostasis, and its effects on oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, inflammation, and cancer biology. The provided literature emphasizes a therapeutic duality: iron deprivation or chelation is investigated in cancer and iron-overload disorders, whereas controlled iron delivery or iron-dependent reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation is explored for antibacterial treatment and ferroptosis-based cancer therapy.
Across the cited studies, iron-related mechanisms include peroxidase-like ROS production, disruption of bacterial respiration, ferroptosis-associated oxidative injury involving lipid peroxidation and glutathione Peroxidase 4 (GPX4), and interactions with amyloid-β, copper, and zinc in Alzheimer’s disease models. These publications extend the dominant cluster of iron and metabolic disease while also advancing the related themes of ROS nanotherapies and metal-driven Alzheimer’s disease research.
Where the papers sit
16 papers from the last 6 months study iron directly · updated from PubMed 1 Nov 2026
Study type 2 clinical trials · 2 observational · 2 human data · 8 preclinical · 2 unclassified
Themes one subject · 1 paradigm shift
Those 16 are all about one subject.
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Iron Biology and Medicine
Iron biology is studied across nutrition, disease prognosis, metal toxicity, and therapeutic intervention. Clinical work tests alternate-day supplementation and micronutrient use, while biomarker studies link iron handling to acute coronary outcomes. Preclinical studies target ferroptosis, disulfidptosis, pathogen iron competition, amyloid aggregation, and redox injury with liposomes, hydrogels, nanozymes, and chelation. The shared subject is iron and metal homeostasis rather than a single disease or treatment direction.
Iron-dependent ferroptosis has opposite consequences depending on which biological compartment undergoes it
The lean-versus-obese breast cancer study 42721252Sep found that adipocyte-derived 9S-HODE disrupts iron homeostasis and induces ferroptosis in breast cancer cells, suppressing tumor growth, whereas the fungal keratitis study 42636800Aug found that iron-overload-driven ferroptosis in host tissue promotes fungal proliferation and inflammation. Together, these independent disease models replace the assumption that increasing or suppressing iron-dependent ferroptosis is uniformly beneficial: iron interventions must distinguish malignant cells from host cells and determine which compartment undergoes ferroptosis.
Papers
The 16 papers from the last 6 months that study iron directly, newest first, by theme and by study type. Study types come from PubMed publication types and MeSH headings.
By theme
Iron Biology and Medicine (16)
- Edible Metal-Phenolic Nanoarchitecture with pH-Responsive GI Transit and Mucoadhesive Retention for Oral Vitamin Delivery. Nano letters · 28 Oct 2026 PMID 42949369
- Reduced-dose alternate-day oral iron supplementation in women with iron deficiency: a randomized controlled trial. European journal of nutrition · 25 Oct 2026 PMID 42927507
- Metallotoxicity-driven oxidative perturbations in spinal cord injury: Unraveling the pathophysiological nexus between metal-induced redox imbalance and disease severity: A correlational and multivariate analysis. Molecular biology reports · 15 Sept 2026 PMID 42742870
- Exploring the relationship between iron metabolism biomarkers and 28 day prognosis in patients with severe acute coronary syndrome: a multicenter retrospective cohort study. Scientific reports · 15 Sept 2026 PMID 42736313
- Lean adipocyte oxylipin signaling restrains breast cancer through ferroptosis. Science (New York, N.Y.) · 10 Sept 2026 PMID 42721252
- Synergistic Antibacterial Behavior of Carbon Dots via Both Contact-Dependent and -Independent Mechanisms. Nano letters · 9 Sept 2026 PMID 42715070
- Blood-Triggered In Vivo Reassembly of Oral Cystine Spherulites with Fasting Synergy Induces Disulfidptosis for Cancer Metabolic Intervention. Journal of the American Chemical Society · 9 Sept 2026 PMID 42714527
- Iron-Deprivation Liposomes for Cancer Therapy. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 9 Sept 2026 PMID 42711711
- Differential Effects of Cannabidiol and Cannabigerol on Cognition, Neuroinflammation, and Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity in a Rat Model of Iron Overload. Neurotoxicity research · 28 Aug 2026 PMID 42663810
- Spatiotemporal iron-hijacking hydrogel reprograms host-pathogen iron homeostasis for fungal keratitis therapy. Cell reports. Medicine · 24 Aug 2026 PMID 42636800
- Methanogenic community and pathway responses to iron addition in high-load chicken manure anaerobic digestion under ammonia stress. Waste management (New York, N.Y.) · 21 Aug 2026 PMID 42628177
- Metal-Ion-Mediated Amyloid- β Aggregation in Alzheimer's Disease: A Mathematical Model of Chelation and Inhibitory Therapies. Bulletin of mathematical biology · 21 Aug 2026 PMID 42624961
- Iron or Multiple Micronutrient Powder Supplements With Malaria Chemoprevention in Rural Malawian Children: The IRMA Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA · 6 Aug 2026 PMID 42560689
- Ferromagnetic Coupling in Dual-Atom Nanozymes Enables Spin-Favorable Catalase-Like Catalysis for Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 5 Aug 2026 PMID 42555172
- A Ferrous-Supply-Regenerating Lipid Nanoparticle Integrating RNAi Induces Ferroptosis for Cancer Therapy. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) · 30 Jul 2026 PMID 42528415
- Novel Xanthene Derivatives for Neuroprotection in Alzheimer's Disease-Synthesis and Biological Assessment. ChemMedChem · 30 Jun 2026 PMID 42380051
By study type
Clinical trials (2)
- Reduced-dose alternate-day oral iron supplementation in women with iron deficiency: a randomized controlled trial. European journal of nutrition · 25 Oct 2026 PMID 42927507
- Iron or Multiple Micronutrient Powder Supplements With Malaria Chemoprevention in Rural Malawian Children: The IRMA Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA · 6 Aug 2026 PMID 42560689
Observational studies and case reports (2)
- Metallotoxicity-driven oxidative perturbations in spinal cord injury: Unraveling the pathophysiological nexus between metal-induced redox imbalance and disease severity: A correlational and multivariate analysis. Molecular biology reports · 15 Sept 2026 PMID 42742870
- Exploring the relationship between iron metabolism biomarkers and 28 day prognosis in patients with severe acute coronary syndrome: a multicenter retrospective cohort study. Scientific reports · 15 Sept 2026 PMID 42736313
Human data, design not indexed (2)
- Metal-Ion-Mediated Amyloid- β Aggregation in Alzheimer's Disease: A Mathematical Model of Chelation and Inhibitory Therapies. Bulletin of mathematical biology · 21 Aug 2026 PMID 42624961
- Ferromagnetic Coupling in Dual-Atom Nanozymes Enables Spin-Favorable Catalase-Like Catalysis for Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 5 Aug 2026 PMID 42555172
Preclinical: animal, cell and lab studies (8)
- Edible Metal-Phenolic Nanoarchitecture with pH-Responsive GI Transit and Mucoadhesive Retention for Oral Vitamin Delivery. Nano letters · 28 Oct 2026 PMID 42949369
- Lean adipocyte oxylipin signaling restrains breast cancer through ferroptosis. Science (New York, N.Y.) · 10 Sept 2026 PMID 42721252
- Synergistic Antibacterial Behavior of Carbon Dots via Both Contact-Dependent and -Independent Mechanisms. Nano letters · 9 Sept 2026 PMID 42715070
- Blood-Triggered In Vivo Reassembly of Oral Cystine Spherulites with Fasting Synergy Induces Disulfidptosis for Cancer Metabolic Intervention. Journal of the American Chemical Society · 9 Sept 2026 PMID 42714527
- Differential Effects of Cannabidiol and Cannabigerol on Cognition, Neuroinflammation, and Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity in a Rat Model of Iron Overload. Neurotoxicity research · 28 Aug 2026 PMID 42663810
- Spatiotemporal iron-hijacking hydrogel reprograms host-pathogen iron homeostasis for fungal keratitis therapy. Cell reports. Medicine · 24 Aug 2026 PMID 42636800
- Methanogenic community and pathway responses to iron addition in high-load chicken manure anaerobic digestion under ammonia stress. Waste management (New York, N.Y.) · 21 Aug 2026 PMID 42628177
- Novel Xanthene Derivatives for Neuroprotection in Alzheimer's Disease-Synthesis and Biological Assessment. ChemMedChem · 30 Jun 2026 PMID 42380051
Unclassified: not yet indexed with MeSH (2)
- Iron-Deprivation Liposomes for Cancer Therapy. Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 9 Sept 2026 PMID 42711711
- A Ferrous-Supply-Regenerating Lipid Nanoparticle Integrating RNAi Induces Ferroptosis for Cancer Therapy. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) · 30 Jul 2026 PMID 42528415
Written from 16 PubMed abstracts, each one listed by PMID above. Published: 2026-09-11. Last written: 2026-09-17 by GPT. Drafted by language models from published abstracts; not medical advice.