scholarly journals Hepcidin-Ferroportin Interaction Controls Systemic Iron Homeostasis

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 6493
Author(s):  
Elizabeta Nemeth ◽  
Tomas Ganz

Despite its abundance in the environment, iron is poorly bioavailable and subject to strict conservation and internal recycling by most organisms. In vertebrates, the stability of iron concentration in plasma and extracellular fluid, and the total body iron content are maintained by the interaction of the iron-regulatory peptide hormone hepcidin with its receptor and cellular iron exporter ferroportin (SLC40a1). Ferroportin exports iron from duodenal enterocytes that absorb dietary iron, from iron-recycling macrophages in the spleen and the liver, and from iron-storing hepatocytes. Hepcidin blocks iron export through ferroportin, causing hypoferremia. During iron deficiency or after hemorrhage, hepcidin decreases to allow iron delivery to plasma through ferroportin, thus promoting compensatory erythropoiesis. As a host defense mediator, hepcidin increases in response to infection and inflammation, blocking iron delivery through ferroportin to blood plasma, thus limiting iron availability to invading microbes. Genetic diseases that decrease hepcidin synthesis or disrupt hepcidin binding to ferroportin cause the iron overload disorder hereditary hemochromatosis. The opposite phenotype, iron restriction or iron deficiency, can result from genetic or inflammatory overproduction of hepcidin.

Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 133 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Yu Wang ◽  
Jodie L. Babitt

Abstract The liver orchestrates systemic iron balance by producing and secreting hepcidin. Known as the iron hormone, hepcidin induces degradation of the iron exporter ferroportin to control iron entry into the bloodstream from dietary sources, iron recycling macrophages, and body stores. Under physiologic conditions, hepcidin production is reduced by iron deficiency and erythropoietic drive to increase the iron supply when needed to support red blood cell production and other essential functions. Conversely, hepcidin production is induced by iron loading and inflammation to prevent the toxicity of iron excess and limit its availability to pathogens. The inability to appropriately regulate hepcidin production in response to these physiologic cues underlies genetic disorders of iron overload and deficiency, including hereditary hemochromatosis and iron-refractory iron deficiency anemia. Moreover, excess hepcidin suppression in the setting of ineffective erythropoiesis contributes to iron-loading anemias such as β-thalassemia, whereas excess hepcidin induction contributes to iron-restricted erythropoiesis and anemia in chronic inflammatory diseases. These diseases have provided key insights into understanding the mechanisms by which the liver senses plasma and tissue iron levels, the iron demand of erythrocyte precursors, and the presence of potential pathogens and, importantly, how these various signals are integrated to appropriately regulate hepcidin production. This review will focus on recent insights into how the liver senses body iron levels and coordinates this with other signals to regulate hepcidin production and systemic iron homeostasis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira Lakhal-Littleton

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder in the world. It is prevalent amongst patients with cardiovascular disease, in whom it is associated with worse clinical outcomes. The benefits of iron supplementation have been established in chronic heart failure, but data on their effectiveness in other cardiovascular diseases are lacking or conflicting. Realising the potential of iron therapies in cardiovascular disease requires understanding of the mechanisms through which iron deficiency affects cardiovascular function, and the cell types in which such mechanisms operate. That understanding has been enhanced by recent insights into the roles of hepcidin and iron regulatory proteins (IRPs) in cellular iron homeostasis within cardiovascular cells. These studies identify intracellular iron deficiency within the cardiovascular tissue as an important contributor to the disease process, and present novel therapeutic strategies based on targeting the machinery of cellular iron homeostasis rather than direct iron supplementation. This review discusses these new insights and their wider implications for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, focusing on two disease conditions: chronic heart failure and pulmonary arterial hypertension.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (17) ◽  
pp. 1373-1384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nermi L. Parrow ◽  
Yihang Li ◽  
Maria Feola ◽  
Amaliris Guerra ◽  
Carla Casu ◽  
...  

In this Plenary Paper, the investigators demonstrate that the two monoferric forms of transferrin, the major plasma glycoprotein involved in cellular iron delivery, have functionally distinct effects on erythropoiesis and systemic iron regulation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Yikun Li ◽  
Xiali Huang ◽  
Jingjing Wang ◽  
Ruiling Huang ◽  
Dan Wan

The liver is the organ for iron storage and regulation; it senses circulating iron concentrations in the body through the BMP-SMAD pathway and regulates the iron intake from food and erythrocyte recovery into the bloodstream by secreting hepcidin. Under iron deficiency, hypoxia, and hemorrhage, the liver reduces the expression of hepcidin to ensure the erythropoiesis but increases the excretion of hepcidin during infection and inflammation to reduce the usage of iron by pathogens. Excessive iron causes system iron overload; it accumulates in never system and damages neurocyte leading to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s syndrome. When some gene mutations affect the perception of iron and iron regulation ability in the liver, then they decrease the expression of hepcidin, causing hereditary diseases such as hereditary hemochromatosis. This review summarizes the source and utilization of iron in the body, the liver regulates systemic iron homeostasis by sensing the circulating iron concentration, and the expression of hepcidin regulated by various signaling pathways, thereby understanding the pathogenesis of iron-related diseases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Tortosa ◽  
Maria Carmela Bonaccorsi di Patti ◽  
Valentina Brandi ◽  
Giovanni Musci ◽  
Fabio Polticelli

AbstractFerroportin (Fpn) is a membrane protein representing the major cellular iron exporter, essential for metal translocation from cells into plasma. Despite its pivotal role in human iron homeostasis, many questions on Fpn structure and biology remain unanswered. In this work, we present two novel and more reliable structural models of human Fpn (hFpn; inward-facing and outward-facing conformations) obtained using as templates the recently solved crystal structures of a bacterial homologue of hFpn,


Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 4258-4258
Author(s):  
Ramsey M. Wehbe ◽  
Rebecca L. Whittlesey ◽  
Nancy C. Andrews ◽  
Karin E. Finberg

Abstract Abstract 4258 Mutations in TMPRSS6 (matriptase-2), a transmembrane serine protease expressed by the liver, result in the clinical phenotype of iron refractory iron deficiency anemia (IRIDA). Additionally, common polymorphisms in TMPRSS6 have been associated with variation in laboratory parameters of iron homeostasis in healthy populations. TMPRSS6 increases iron absorption by reducing expression of the hepatic hormone, hepcidin, via down-regulation of a BMP/SMAD signaling cascade. Hepcidin promotes the internalization and degradation of the duodenal iron transporter, ferroportin, thereby inhibiting iron absorption. Previous studies have demonstrated that adult mice with Tmprss6 deficiency exhibit elevated hepatic hepcidin mRNA levels that are associated with decreased hepatic iron stores. In one study, genetic loss of Tmprss6 was shown to result in significant elevation of hepatic hepcidin expression in mice at birth; however, whether this hepcidin elevation was associated with abnormalities in iron homeostasis was not reported. We therefore asked if the elevated hepcidin levels present in newborn Tmprss6-/- pups correlate with abnormal parameters of iron homeostasis in the fetal or neonatal periods. To answer this question, we intercrossed Tmprss6+/− mice to generate Tmprss6+/+, Tmprss6+/−, and Tmprss6-/- progeny for phenotypic characterization at either gestational day 17.5 (E17.5) or postnatal day 0 (P0). Consistent with prior observations, Tmprss6-/- pups at P0 showed a 4.6-fold increase in hepatic hepcidin mRNA compared to Tmprss6+/+ littermates (p=.006). However, despite this elevation in hepcidin expression, Tmprss6-/- pups were not pale, and they showed no significant differences in body mass or hepatic non-heme iron concentration compared to Tmprss6+/+ and Tmprss6+/− littermates. At E17.5, Tmprss6-/- fetuses showed a 50-fold increase in hepatic hepcidin mRNA compared to Tmprss6+/+ littermates (p=.005). However, Tmprss6-/- fetuses also were not pale, and they showed no significant difference in body mass compared to Tmprss6+/+ and Tmprss6+/− littermates. Surprisingly, hepatic non-heme iron concentration at E17.5 was significantly higher in Tmprss6-/- fetuses than in Tmprss6+/+ fetuses (p=.003). To determine if the increased hepcidin expression of Tmprss6-/- fetuses might affect iron homeostasis in their pregnant mothers, we measured iron parameters in Tmprss6+/− females gestating E17.5 litters that were enriched for either Tmprss6+/+ or Tmprss6-/- fetuses. No significant effects of fetal genotype on maternal iron parameters were observed. In summary, our results demonstrate that Tmprss6 regulates hepcidin expression in the fetal and neonatal periods in mice. However, Tmprss6 deficiency does not appear to be associated with systemic iron deficiency at these stages of development, and fetal Tmprss6 expression does not have a significant effect on maternal iron homeostasis in late gestation. These results may have implications for understanding the maintenance of iron homeostasis in early development, and may provide insight into the evolution of IRIDA as well as other disorders of iron homeostasis. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (21) ◽  
pp. 429-429
Author(s):  
Daniel F Wallace ◽  
Cameron J McDonald ◽  
Eriza S Secondes ◽  
Lesa Ostini ◽  
Gautam Rishi ◽  
...  

Abstract Iron deficiency and iron overload are common clinical conditions that impact on the health and wellbeing of up to 30% of the world’s population. Understanding mechanisms regulating iron homeostasis will provide improved strategies for treating these disorders. The liver-expressed proteins matriptase-2 (encoded by TMPRSS6), HFE and transferrin receptor 2 (TFR2) play important and opposing roles in systemic iron homeostasis by regulating expression of the iron regulatory hormone hepcidin. Mutations in TMPRSS6 lead to iron refractory iron deficiency anemia, whereas mutations in HFE and TFR2 lead to the iron overload disorder hereditary hemochromatosis. To elucidate the competing roles of these hepcidin regulators, we created mice lacking matriptase-2, Hfe and Tfr2. Tmprss6 -/-/Hfe-/-/Tfr2-/- mice had iron deficiency anemia resulting from hepatic hepcidin over-expression and activation of Smad1/5/8, indicating that matriptase-2 predominates over Hfe and Tfr2 in hepcidin regulation. Surprisingly, this anemia was more severe than in the Tmprss6-/- mice, demonstrated by more extensive alopecia, lower hematocrit and significant extramedullary erythropoiesis in the spleen. There was increased expression of erythroid-specific genes in the spleens of Tmprss6-/-/Hfe-/-/Tfr2-/- mice, consistent with the extramedullary erythropoiesis. Expression of Tfr2 but not Hfe in the spleen was increased in the Tmprss6-/- mice compared to wild type and correlated with the expression of erythroid genes, suggesting that Tfr2 is expressed in erythroid cells. Further analysis of gene expression in the bone marrow suggests that the loss of Tfr2 in the erythroid cells of Tmprss6-/-/Hfe-/-/Tfr2-/- mice causes a delay in the differentiation process leading to a more severe phenotype. In conclusion, our results indicate that Hfe and Tfr2 act upstream of matriptase-2 in hepcidin regulation or in a way that is overridden when matriptase-2 is deleted. These results indicate that inhibition of matriptase-2 would be useful in the treatment of iron overload conditions such as hereditary hemochromatosis. We have also identified a novel role for Tfr2 in erythroid differentiation that is separate from its canonical role as a regulator of iron homeostasis in the liver. This important role of Tfr2 in erythropoiesis only becomes apparent during conditions of iron restriction. Our results provide novel insights into mechanisms regulating and linking iron homeostasis and erythropoiesis. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Blood ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 94 (11) ◽  
pp. 3915-3921 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.D. Riedel ◽  
M.U. Muckenthaler ◽  
S.G. Gehrke ◽  
I. Mohr ◽  
K. Brennan ◽  
...  

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a common autosomal-recessive disorder of iron metabolism. More than 80% of HH patients are homozygous for a point mutation in a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I type protein (HFE), which results in a lack of HFE expression on the cell surface. A previously identified interaction of HFE and the transferrin receptor suggests a possible regulatory role of HFE in cellular iron absorption. Using an HeLa cell line stably transfected with HFE under the control of a tetracycline-sensitive promoter, we investigated the effect of HFE expression on cellular iron uptake. We demonstrate that the overproduction of HFE results in decreased iron uptake from diferric transferrin. Moreover, HFE expression activates the key regulators of intracellular iron homeostasis, the iron-regulatory proteins (IRPs), implying that HFE can affect the intracellular “labile iron pool.” The increase in IRP activity is accompanied by the downregulation of the iron-storage protein, ferritin, and an upregulation of transferrin receptor levels. These findings are discussed in the context of the pathophysiology of HH and a possible role of iron-responsive element (IRE)-containing mRNAs.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 1357-1366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Camaschella ◽  
Laura Silvestri

Iron is essential for human life, but toxic if present in excess. To avoid iron overload and maintain iron homeostasis, all cells are able to regulate their iron content through the post-transcriptional control of iron genes operated by the cytosolic iron regulatory proteins that interact with iron responsive elements on iron gene mRNA. At the systemic level, iron homeostasis is regulated by the liver peptide hepcidin. Disruption of these regulatory loops leads to genetic diseases characterized by iron deficiency (iron-refractory iron-deficiency anemia) or iron overload (hemochromatosis). Alterations of the same systems are also found in acquired disorders, such as iron-loading anemias characterized by ineffective erythropoiesis and anemia of chronic diseases (ACD) associated with common inflammatory conditions. In ACD, iron is present in the body, but maldistributed, being deficient for erythropoiesis, but sequestered in macrophages. Studies of the hepcidin regulation by iron and inflammatory cytokines are revealing new pathways that might become targets of new therapeutic intervention in iron disorders.


2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (3) ◽  
pp. G403-G414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonello Pietrangelo

Iron is essential for fundamental cell functions but is also a catalyst for chemical reactions involving free radical formation, potentially leading to oxidative stress and cell damage. Cellular iron levels are therefore carefully regulated to maintain an adequate substrate while also minimizing the pool of potentially toxic “free iron.” The main control of body iron homeostasis in higher organisms is placed in the duodenum, where dietary iron is absorbed, whereas no controlled means of eliminating unwanted iron have evolved in mammals. Hereditary hemochromatosis, the prototype of deregulated iron homeostasis in humans, is due to inappropriately increased iron absorption and is commonly associated to a mutated HFE gene. The HFE protein is homologous to major histocompatibility complex class I proteins but is not an iron carrier, whereas biochemical and cell biological studies have shown that the transferrin receptor, the main protein devoted to cellular uptake of transferrin iron, interacts with HFE. This review focuses on recent advances in iron research and presents a model of HFE function in iron metabolism.


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