apoferritin

[ ap-oh-fer-i-tin ]

noun

, Biochemistry.

1. a homogeneous protein, found especially in the intestinal mucosa and the liver, that interacts with a ferric hydroxide-ferric phosphate complex to form ferritin.

Word History and Origins

Origin of apoferritin¹

apo- + ferritin

Example Sentences

One was the iron-storing protein apoferritin, which has become a benchmark for cryo-EM resolution records.

From Science Magazine

In 2020, it crossed the threshold of atomic resolution as researchers using cryo-EM microscopes equipped with improved electron detectors and software mapped the structure of apoferritin, an iron-binding protein.

From Science Magazine

Researchers in Japan had previously shown they could narrow the resolution to 1.54 angstroms—not quite reaching the point where they could distinguish individual atoms—in a gut protein called apoferritin, which binds and stores iron.

From Science Magazine

A Cryo-EM map of the protein apoferritin.Credit:

From Nature

A Cryo-EM map of the protein apoferritin.Credit:

From Nature