Hepcidin is the master regulator of iron homeostasis in vertebrates. The synthesis of hepcidin is induced by systemic iron levels and by inflammatory stimuli. While the role of hepcidin in iron regulation is well established, its contribution to host defense is emerging as complex and multifaceted. In this review, we summarize the literature on the role of hepcidin as a mediator of antimicrobia...

Hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation on liver injury facilitates fibrosis. Hepatokines affecting HSCs are largely unknown. Here we show that hepcidin inhibits HSC activation and ameliorates liver fibrosis. We observe that hepcidin levels are inversely correlated with exacerbation of fibrosis in patients, and also confirm the relationship in animal models. Adenoviral delivery of hepcidin to mi...

The iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin is a 25-amino acid peptide that is synthesized in hepatocytes. Hepcidin binds to the cellular iron export channel ferroportin and causes its internalization and degradation and thereby decreases iron efflux from iron exporting tissues into plasma. By this mechanism, hepcidin inhibits dietary iron absorption, the efflux of recycled iron from splenic and hepat...

Hepcidin is a small, cationic peptide that was originally identified in mammals as an antimicrobial peptide and later shown to be an important iron regulatory hormone. Highly conserved hepcidin sequences have been identified in numerous fish species and there is evidence that the antimicrobial and iron-regulatory functions are conserved in fish as well. This review describes the expression of h...

BACKGROUND The development of atherosclerosis may be enhanced by iron accumulation in macrophages. Hepcidin-25 is a key regulator of iron homeostasis, which downregulates the cellular iron exporter ferroportin. In haemodialysis (HD) patients, hepcidin-25 levels are increased. Therefore, it is conceivable that hepcidin-25 is associated with all-cause mortality and/or fatal and non-fatal cardiova...

Hepcidin is synthesized in the liver and has a crucial role in iron homoeostasis. Its synthesis is up-regulated in chronic inflammation and iron excess. We examined the determinants of serum hepcidin and liver hepcidin mRNA levels and their association with histological lesions in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and healthy controls. We studied 96 patients with CHC and 30 controls. Seru...

Hepcidin is the main regulator of systemic iron homeostasis and is primarily produced by the liver but is also expressed, at the mRNA-level, in periphery tissues including the subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue. Obesity is associated with elevated hepcidin concentrations and iron depletion suggesting that the exaggerated fat mass in obesity could contribute significantly to circulating he...

Under conditions of accelerated erythropoiesis, elevated erythropoietin (Epo) levels are associated with inhibition of hepcidin synthesis, a response that ultimately increases iron availability to meet the enhanced iron needs of erythropoietic cells. In the search for erythroid regulators of hepcidin, many candidates have been proposed, including Epo itself. We aimed to test whether direct inte...

BACKGROUND Hepcidin is a master regulator of iron metabolism that inhibits the transport of iron out of enterocytes and macrophages. Thalassemia major (TM) is associated with some of the endocrine disorders. However, studies have yet to be conducted on the correlation of hepcidin with hormone levels and insulin resistance (IR) in patients with TM. OBJECTIVES In the present study, the correlat...

Iron deficiency anemia is the most prevalent nutritional disorder in the world. Information on the metabolism of hepcidin and its possible significance as a biochemical parameter in iron deficiency anemia is reported in this review, which was based on a survey of the databases PubMed and LILACS for articles published between 2006 and 2010 on hepcidin as a biomarker for the regulation of iron me...