Targeting iron metabolism in drug discovery and delivery

Dysregulation of iron homeostasis occurs in haematological disorders and in other diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration. Crielaard and colleagues discuss the progress made in interfering with iron metabolism as a therapeutic strategy, as well as in using iron metabolism to direct drugs to target tissues. Iron fulfils a central role in many essential biochemical processes in human physiology; thus, proper processing of iron is crucial. Although iron metabolism is subject to relatively strict physiological control, numerous disorders, such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, have recently been linked to deregulated iron homeostasis. Consequently, iron metabolism constitutes a promising and largely unexploited therapeutic target for the development of new pharmacological treatments for these diseases. Several iron metabolism-targeted therapies are already under clinical evaluation for haematological disorders, and these and newly developed therapeutic agents are likely to have substantial benefit in the clinical management of iron metabolism-associated diseases, for which few efficacious treatments are currently available.