Hepcidin and iron homeostasis

Abstract

铁代谢紊乱引起的疾患是人类最常见的疾病。生理条件下 ,人体主要通过调控小肠铁吸收保持机体铁稳态。最近关于hepcidin的研究显示 ,这种肝脏合成的已知具有抗菌功能的多肽是控制小肠铁吸收 ,以及调节机体铁稳态的铁调节激素。肝脏hepcidin高表达可能是许多贫血包括炎症和慢性疾病性贫血的根本原因 ,而hepcidin表达障碍可能是许多铁过负荷类疾病的起因。 The understanding of iron metabolism in humans, especially of its mechanism involved in controlling iron absorption in the proximal small intestine, is of great importance since diseases associated with iron deficiency or overload are very common worldwide. Recent study on hepcidin which is senthesized by liver has showed that this originally identified as a circulating antimicrobial peptide is a putative iron regulatory hormone. It plays a central role in the regulation of small intestine iron absorption and body iron homeostasis. The increased expression of hepcidin in the liver, induced by inflammation, might be an initial cause of the anemia of infection or chronic diseases and the iron-overload diseases might be tightly associated with the decreased hepcidin expression in the liver.