capacity was saturated by an acute intravenous infusion of iron, deposited a large fraction of intestinally absorbed iron in the liver during the first pass of portal venous blood through this organ.1 Subsequently, Wheby and Umpiere demonstrated similar results in normal human subjects given sufficient iron to acutely saturate their plasma iron-binding capacity.2 Our results in patients with sp...

We studied hepatic iron overload (HIOL) patterns in 32 patients who underwent liver biopsies and testing for HFE mutations (C282Y, H63D). Iron-stained biopsy specimens were examined for patterns of iron deposits: hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) pattern or non-HH pattern. Visual iron grade based on amount of cellular and lobular iron was evaluated. We found the HH pattern in 17 biopsy specimens ...

Patients with chronic hepatitis C frequently have serum and hepatic iron overload, but the mechanism is unknown. Recently identified hepcidin, exclusively synthesized in the liver, is thought to be a key regulator for iron homeostasis and is induced by infection and inflammation. This study was conducted to determine the hepatic hepcidin expression levels in patients with various liver diseases...

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...

Splenectomy is a recognized therapy for liver cirrhosis with splenomegaly, since it decreases free iron concentration that accompanies the destruction of red blood cells. Heme oxygenase (HO)-1 and its by-products, iron and carbon monoxide (CO), play crucial roles in hepatic fibrosis. The aim of the present study was to determine whether splenectomy in cirrhotic rats induced by bile duct ligatio...

We studied the effect of the long-acting parenteral iron chelator, hydroxyethyl starch deferoxamine (HES-DFO) on liver nonheme iron, lipid peroxidation and pathologic changes in the liver in the intragastric feeding rat model for alcoholic liver disease. Male Wistar rats (225-250 g) were fed liquid diet and ethanol for 2 months. In control pair-fed animals, ethanol was isocalorically replaced b...

C. M. Hillenbrand, R. B. Loeffler, M. McCarville, R. Song, E. Hansbury, M. Rieman, N. Mortier, M. P. Smeltzer, C-S. Li, F. Hoffer, L. Kun, R. Ware, and J. Hankins Radiological Sciences, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States, Hematology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States, Biostatistics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN...

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a common autosomal recessive disorder characterized by excess absorption of dietary iron and progressive iron deposition in several tissues, particularly liver. Liver disease resulting from iron toxicity is the major cause of death in HH. Hepatic iron loading in HH is progressive despite down-regulation of the classical transferrin receptor (TfR). Recently a h...

BACKGROUND Results of previous autopsy studies indicate that increased hepatic iron stores or hepatic iron overload is common in African Americans dying in hospitals, but there are no reports of hepatic iron content in other cohorts of African Americans. METHODS We investigated the prevalence of heavy liver iron deposition in African American adults. Using established histochemical criteria, ...

Iron overload is known to occur in the West European and American population due to the consumption of iron-rich diets. On the other hand, genetic disorders leading to iron overload are also known. Iron overload leads to increased peroxidation and disruptive disintegration of lipid-rich membranes, and predisposes humans for an enhanced risk of cancer induction. In experimental animals iron ...