Iron responsive element

(IRE); a short conserved stem-loop in the untranslated regions (UTR) of iron-related mRNAs

Description
Iron response elements are bound by iron response proteins (IRP), that control their translation and mRNA stability and play a key role in iron homeostasis. Well-characterised examples of IRE are those of the mRNA of ferritin (an iron storage protein), whose translation is repressed by binding of IRP to its 5'-UTR-localised single IRE in conditions of low iron, and the mRNA of the transferrin receptor (an iron importer), whose multiple IRE in 5' and 3' UTR increase mRNA stability in conditions of low iron.