Hepcidin Regulates Cellular Iron Efflux by Binding to Ferroportin and Inducing Its Internalization

Hepcidin is a peptide hormone secreted by the liver in response to iron loading and inflammation. Decreased hepcidin leads to tissue iron overload, whereas hepcidin overproduction leads to hypoferremia and the anemia of inflammation. Ferroportin is an iron exporter present on the surface of absorptive enterocytes, macrophages, hepatocytes, and placental cells. Here we report that hepcidin bound to ferroportin in tissue culture cells. After...