Inflammation and iron accumulation are present in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases that include Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. The study of the putative association between inflammation and iron accumulation in central nervous system cells is relevant to understand the contribution of these processes to the progression of neuronal death. In this study, we analyzed the effects of the inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) and of lipopolysaccharide on total cell iron content and on the expression and abundance of the iron transporters divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) and Ferroportin 1 (FPN1) in neurons, astrocytes and microglia obtained from rat brain. Considering previous reports indicating that inflammatory stimuli induce the systemic synthesis of the master iron regulator hepcidin, we identified brain cells that produce hepcidin in response to inflammatory stimuli, as well as hepcidin-target cells. We found that inflammatory stimuli increased the expression of DMT1 in neurons, astrocytes, and microglia. Inflammatory stimuli also induced the expression of hepcidin in astrocytes and microglia, but not in neurons. Incubation with hepcidin decreased the expression of FPN1 in the three cell types. The net result of these changes was increased iron accumulation in neurons and microglia but not in astrocytes. The data presented here establish for the first time a causal association between inflammation and iron accumulation in brain cells, probably promoted by changes in DMT1 and FPN1 expression and mediated in part by hepcidin. This connection may potentially contribute to the progression of neurodegenerative diseases by enhancing iron-induced oxidative damage.

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A proper balance between chemical reduction and oxidation (known as redox balance) is essential for normal cellular physiology. Deregulation in the production of oxidative species leads to DNA damage, lipid peroxidation and aberrant post-translational modification of proteins, which in most cases induces injury, cell death and disease. However, physiological concentrations of oxidative species are necessary to support important cell functions, such as chemotaxis, hormone synthesis, immune response, cytoskeletal remodeling, Ca2+ homeostasis and others. Recent evidence suggests that redox balance regulates actin and microtubule dynamics in both physiological and pathological contexts. Microtubules and actin microfilaments contain certain amino acid residues that are susceptible to oxidation, which reduces the ability of microtubules to polymerize and causes severing of actin microfilaments in neuronal and non-neuronal cells. In contrast, inhibited production of reactive oxygen species (ROS; e.g., due to NOXs) leads to aberrant actin polymerization, decreases neurite outgrowth and affects the normal development and polarization of neurons. In this review, we summarize emerging evidence suggesting that both general and specific enzymatic sources of redox species exert diverse effects on cytoskeletal dynamics. Considering the intimate relationship between cytoskeletal dynamics and trafficking, we also discuss the potential effects of redox balance on intracellular transport via regulation of the components of the microtubule and actin cytoskeleton as well as cytoskeleton-associated proteins, which may directly impact localization of proteins and vesicles across the soma, dendrites and axon of neurons.