Hepcidin Dynamics in Iron Metabolism Disorders
Summary
Hepcidin is a liver-derived peptide that orchestrates systemic iron balance by regulating the cellular iron exporter ferroportin. In physiological states, rising body iron or inflammatory signals trigger hepcidin synthesis, leading to ferroportin internalisation and reduced dietary iron absorption and macrophage iron release. Conversely, iron deficiency, hypoxia or heightened erythropoietic drive suppresses hepcidin to enhance iron availability for red blood cell production. Dysregulation of this feedback loop underlies diverse clinical syndromes: excessive hepcidin contributes to the anaemia of chronic disease and iron-restricted erythropoiesis in inflammatory disorders, whereas insufficient hepcidin promotes iron overload in hereditary haemochromatosis and ineffective erythropoiesis of thalassaemia. Emerging evidence highlights dynamic interactions between hepcidin and co-morbid infections, protein binding in plasma and assay standardisation, all of which are critical to accurate measurement and targeted therapeutic interventions. Understanding the temporal and contextual modulation of hepcidin informs personalised strategies for iron supplementation, chelation and novel hepcidin-modulating agents.
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Hepcidin Dynamics in Iron Metabolism Disorders publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in hepcidin dynamics in iron metabolism disorders across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Hepcidin: A 25-amino-acid peptide hormone synthesised by the liver that serves as the master regulator of systemic iron balance by binding to the iron exporter ferroportin, inducing its internalisation and degradation.
Ferroportin: A transmembrane iron exporter located on enterocytes and macrophages that releases iron into the circulation; its expression is negatively regulated by hepcidin.
Iron homeostasis: The physiological processes that maintain systemic and cellular iron levels within a narrow range, balancing dietary absorption, recycling from senescent erythrocytes and storage.
Proficiency testing: An external quality-assurance procedure in which laboratories evaluate the accuracy and standardisation of their hepcidin assays using reference materials and inter-laboratory comparisons.
References
- Optimizing hepcidin measurement with a proficiency test framework and standardization improvement. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (2020).
- Association between Active H. pylori Infection and Iron Deficiency Assessed by Serum Hepcidin Levels in School-Age Children. Nutrients (2019).
- Unraveling Hepcidin Plasma Protein Binding: Evidence from Peritoneal Equilibration Testing. Pharmaceuticals (2019).
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