Search

Iron is a metal element with crucial roles in human organism. Both iron deficiency and iron overload are important pathologies. Hepcidin, a peptide synthetized in the liver, is a key iron regulatory hormone. Increased amount of iron and inflammation stimulate its expression while iron deficiency and activated erythropoiesis cause hepcidin downregulation. The regulation of hepcidin expression on the molecular level and its hierarchy and interactions are not completely known. The main regulatory pathway is BMP/ SMAD which reacts to the iron amount in the organism. Several molecules, including hemojuvelin and HFE, are involved in this pathway and their mutations are linked to inappropriately low hepcidin production, iron overload and hereditary hemochromatosis. Erythroid regulation with suppressive action on hepcidin expression is known only partially as well as its connection to the BMP/ SMAD pathway. Recently, two new negative regulators of hepcidin expression have been described. Membrane enzyme present in hepatocytes - matriptase-2 (MT-2, TMPRSS6) and soluble factor secreted by erythroblasts - erythroferrone (ERFE). The aim of our work was to investigate how MT-2 is involved in the erythroid regulatory pathway, and whether it can represent the molecule where various regulatory pathways interact....