A cis-acting element is necessary and sufficient for translational regulation of human ferritin expression in response to iron.

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Abstract
Ferritin plays a key role in determining the intracellular fate of iron and is highly regulated by the iron status of the cell. We have identified a cis-acting element in the transcribed but nontranslated 5'' leader sequence of human ferritin heavy-chain mRNA. In transiently transfected murine fibroblasts, the presence of a 157-nucleotide region of the 5'' leader sequence was found to be necessary for iron-dependent regulation of ferritin biosynthesis. Further, this 5'' leader region is sufficient to transfer iron-mediated translational control to the expression of a heterologous gene product, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase.