Iron metabolism and atherosclerosis

Despite several decades of study, whether iron is involved in the development of atherosclerosis remains a controversial and unresolved issue. Here, we focus on the up-to-date advances in studies on role of iron in atherosclerosis and discuss possible reasons why patients with hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) do not show any increased incidence of atherosclerosis. In addition, we analyze conflicting results concerning the role of iron in atherogenesis from several epidemiological and animal studies. We argue that atherosclerosis is not observed in HH because iron homeostasis in the arterial wall, the actual location of atherosclerosis, is not significantly affected, and support a causal link between iron in the arterial wall and atherosclerosis.