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. 2015 Jul 9;6:702. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00702

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Copyright © 2015 León-Sicairos, Angulo-Zamudio, de la Garza, Velázquez-Román, Flores-Villaseñor and Canizalez-Román.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Iron acquisition systems used by bacteria that infect humans. Iron (Fe) is an essential element for virtually all forms of cellular life, including most bacteria, because it serves as a cofactor for several key enzymes required for many metabolic processes. Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria can acquire iron using elaborated mechanisms. (1) Receptors for host iron-containing proteins. (2) The production and secretion of siderophores/hemophores. (3) Ferrireductases/Proteases. The abilities of bacterial pathogens to adapt to the environment within a host are essential to their virulence.