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Serum iron is a medical laboratory test that measures the amount of circulating iron that is bound to transferrin and freely circulate in the blood. Clinicians order this laboratory test when they are concerned about iron deficiency, which can cause anemia and other problems. 65% of the iron in the body is bound up in hemoglobin molecules in red blood cells.
The amino acids which bind the iron ion to the transferrin are identical for both lobes; two tyrosines, one histidine, and one aspartic acid. For the iron ion to bind, an anion is required, preferably carbonate (CO 2− 3). [18] [13] Transferrin also has a transferrin iron-bound receptor; it is a disulfide-linked homodimer. [16]
Since iron is tightly bound to transferrin, cells throughout the body have receptors for transferrin-iron complexes on their surfaces. These receptors engulf and internalize both the protein and the iron attached to it. Once inside, the cell transfers the iron to ferritin, the internal iron storage molecule.
Transferrin (mg/dL) = 0.8 x TIBC (μg of iron/dL) – 43; Transferrin (mg/dL) = 0.7 x TIBC (μg of iron/dL) To measure TIBC in the blood is less expensive than a direct measurement of transferrin. [4] [5] The TIBC should not be confused with the unsaturated iron-binding capacity or UIBC (LOINC 2501-5, 22753-8 & 35216-1). The UIBC is calculated ...
Human iron metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that maintain human homeostasis of iron at the systemic and cellular level. Iron is both necessary to the body and potentially toxic. Controlling iron levels in the body is a critically important part of many aspects of human health and disease.
Hepcidin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HAMP gene. Hepcidin is a key regulator of the entry of iron into the circulation in mammals. [6]During conditions in which the hepcidin level is abnormally high, such as inflammation, serum iron falls due to iron trapping within macrophages and liver cells and decreased gut iron absorption.
Iron-deficiency anemia is confirmed by tests that include serum ferritin, serum iron level, serum transferrin, and total iron binding capacity. [59] A low serum ferritin is most commonly found. However, serum ferritin can be elevated by any type of chronic inflammation and thus is not consistently decreased in iron-deficiency anemia. [23]
Transferrin receptor 2 (TfR2) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TFR2 gene. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] This protein is involved in the uptake of transferrin -bound iron into cells by endocytosis , although its role is minor compared to transferrin receptor 1 .