Hepcidin: a crucial peptide for normal and pathological iron metabolism
Mariana Paţiu, Gabriel Laszlo
Abstract: The recently discovered liver hormone hepcidin appears to be the central regulator of iron homeostasis. It offers a unifying explanation for as different abnormalities in iron metabolism as those seen in anemia of chronic disease and hereditary hemochromatosis and a better understanding of how iron absorption and distribution are regulated in health and in certain diseases. Besides hepcidin’s potential use in diagnosis, hepcidin agonists and antagonists may prove valuable in disease prevention and therapy.
Keywords: hepcidin,iron homeostasis,hereditary hemochromatosis,anemia in chronic disease
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