The role of copper and core gene network controlling cuproptosis in infection immunity, diagnosis, and treatment

Abstract

Copper is an essential trace element in living organisms and is involved in a variety of biochemical processes, including cellular respiration, iron metabolism, and nerve function. In recent years, research has shown that copper is not only essential for fundamental physiological functions but also plays an important role in immune response and pathological states. In particular, copper death (cuproptosis), a recently discovered cell death pathway that is strongly associated with copper overload, is emerging as an appealing area of immune research. Excess copper can induce cell death as a result of copper ions directly binding to sulfide proteins in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. In-depth studies of copper metabolism and its related mechanisms will contribute to developing new diagnostic tools and therapeutic strategies and providing new ideas and approaches for tackling infections and other related diseases. This review summarizes the newest understanding of copper death and the latest advancements in disease diagnosis and treatment, providing a valuable reference for the follow-up research on tuberculosis-related vaccines and copper in immunity.

Keywords

Copper toxicity / Cuproptosis / Tricarboxylic acid cycle

Funding

This work was supported by the Chongqing Postdoctoral Science Foundation (7820100597) and the Natural Science Foundation (grant numbers: 82072246, 82211530059).

Conflict of interest

Jianping Xie is the Editorial Board Member of this journal but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.

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