You’ve likely heard that you can get iron from eating spinach and steak. You might also know that it’s an essential trace element that is a major component of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to all parts of the body.
A lesser known important function of iron is its involvement in generating energy for certain immune cells.
In our lab’s newly published research, we found that blocking or limiting iron uptake in immune cells could potentially ease up the symptoms of an asthma attack caused by allergens.
During an asthma attack, harmless allergens activate immune cells in your lungs called ILC2s. This causes them to multiply and release large amounts of cytokines – messengers that immune cells use to communicate – and leads to unwanted inflammation. The result is symptoms such as coughing and wheezing that make it feel like someone is ...
