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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new discovery helps researchers understand the causes of iron overload or deficiency in humans.
Iron is needed by the body to produce hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen. Too much iron can build up and damage organs. Too little iron can cause anemia.
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The balance of iron is controlled by a hormone called hepcidin and the iron transporting receptor called ferroportin. Basically, hepcidin connects to ferroportin to help break down iron. Too much hepcidin and a person will become anemic. Too little and the body can't rid itself of iron.
Study authors say they have identified the hepcidin-binding domain on ferroportin. This gives them a very specific way to detect hepcidin levels in human blood. "We've discovered the hepcidin-binding site," says Jerry Kaplan of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. "It will allow the diagnosis of underlying inflammation to distinguish diseases of iron metabolism that stem from hepcidin versus those with other causes."
The most common human disease of iron overload is hereditary hemochromatosis. It affects approximately five out of 1,000 Caucasians in the U.S.
SOURCE: Cell Press, 2008
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