Hepcidin: A Key Regulator of Iron

Hapcidin is the central regulator of iron homeostasis in the body. Primarily it is extracted from urine. Hepcidin is a 25 amino acid long chain peptide. Inflammation or iron overload greatly stimulate production of hepcidin by hepatocytes. Recent evidences have revealed that mutations in the human haemochromatosis (HFE) gene lead to deficiency of hepcidin which is responsible for iron overload and contributing to haemochromatosis. Moreover, hepcidin plays a key role in different types of anaemia, mainly anaemia of inflammation in which concentration of hepcidin increases up to 100 folds. Its contribution to renal disease, heart diseases, cancer and obesity-related disorders are also observed. On the other hand, its role is quite inevitable in understanding metastasis in certain cancers. By understanding the mechanism of hepcidin and its pathological roles in blood and iron diseases could lead to new therapies.