Hepcidin
Iron Regulation / AntimicrobialAlso known as: Hepcidin-25, HAMP, LEAP-1
Antimicrobial Peptides / Iron RegulatorsResearch phase: Clinical (biomarker); therapeutic agents in trialsRegulatory: Not approved as drug. Key biomarker for iron disorders. Hepcidin mimetics and antagonists in clinical trials.
Mechanism
Hepcidin is the body's master iron-regulating hormone, produced by the liver. It also has direct antimicrobial activity and is the reason iron levels drop during infection (to starve bacteria of iron).
Technical detail
Hepcidin is a 25-amino acid peptide (four disulfide bonds) encoded by HAMP, primarily expressed in hepatocytes. It binds and induces internalization/degradation of ferroportin, the sole cellular iron exporter, thereby reducing intestinal iron absorption and macrophage iron release. Upregulated by IL-6/STAT3 during infection (iron withholding) and by BMP6/SMAD during iron overload. Dysregulation underlies hemochromatosis (deficiency) and anemia of chronic disease (excess).