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Iron Biology: Metabolism and Homeostasis

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Nutritional Anemia

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Abstract

Iron is an essential trace nutrient, but its oxidized forms in the Earth’s crust are poorly bioaccessible. Humans and other mammals strictly conserve and recycle iron, so their iron content is determined by the rate of absorption of available iron from their diet. In humans and other mammals, most of the iron is in hemoglobin of erythrocytes. The liver functions as the main iron storage organ. Iron absorption, storage, and tissue distribution are subject to complex hormonal regulation by the iron hormone hepcidin. Hepcidin together with its receptor, the cellular iron exporter ferroportin, controls the major fluxes of iron into blood plasma: intestinal iron absorption, the delivery of recycled iron from macrophages, and the release of stored iron from hepatocytes. Hepcidin is feedback-regulated by plasma iron concentration and iron stores. Erythrocyte precursors in the marrow are the dominant consumers of iron, and they modulate their iron supply by secreting the hepcidin-suppressive hormone erythroferrone. Hepcidin and ferroportin also play a role in host defense and inflammation, and hepcidin synthesis is induced by inflammatory signals, mainly IL-6. Environmental and genetic effects commonly result in disorders of iron homeostasis including iron deficiency anemia, anemia of inflammation, and iron overload toxicity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Medicine and Pathology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Tomas Ganz

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Human Nutrition, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Crystal D. Karakochuk

  2. Institute of Food Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Michael B. Zimmermann

  3. Department of Health, University of Applied Sciences of South Switzerland (SUPSI) and Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences (FFHS), Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Diego Moretti

  4. International Health, Sight and Life Foundation and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Basel, Switzerland

    Klaus Kraemer

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Ganz, T. (2022). Iron Biology: Metabolism and Homeostasis. In: Karakochuk, C.D., Zimmermann, M.B., Moretti, D., Kraemer, K. (eds) Nutritional Anemia. Nutrition and Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14521-6_2

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