June 28, 2011
Celia Arnaud
Plutonium Transport Into Cells
Chemical Biology: Transferrin delivers element, but only when accompanied by iron
Plutonium gets inside cells by hitching a ride on the iron-transport protein transferrin?but only when iron comes along for the ride, scientists at Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern University report (Nat. Chem. Biol., DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.594). This is the first time a pathway for plutonium uptake has been found, and it could lead to ways of preventing plutonium poisoning.
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The researchers also showed that treatment with the antimalarial drug chloroquine, which is known to block iron uptake, stops plutonium uptake. The use of such a drug as a treatment for plutonium uptake is a "long way down the road," Jensen is quick to caution.....
