Ferritin

Ferritin is a globular protein found mainly in the liver, which can store about 4500 iron ions in a hollow shell made of 24 identical subunits. Inside the ferritin shell, iron ions form crystallites together with phosphate and hydroxide ions.

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Some ferritin complexes in vertebrates are hetero-oligomers of two higly related genes with slightly different physiological properties. The ratio of the two homologous proteins in the complex depends on the relative expression levels of the two genes.

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Protein: A protein (in Greek πρωτεϊνη = first thread) is a complex, high-molecular-weight organic compound that consists of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. Proteins are essential to the structure and function of all living cells and viruses....

Iron: Iron is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Fe (L.: Ferrum) and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 metal. Iron is notable for being the final element produced by stellar nucleosynthesis, and thus the heaviest element which does not require a supernova or simil...

Phosphate: In chemistry, a phosphate is a polyatomic ion or radical consisting of one phosphorus atom and four oxygen. In the ionic form, it carries a -3 formal charge, and is denoted PO43-....