The Human Body Serum Pro-of Hepcidin Levels And Their Application In Clinical Diagnosis Of A Preliminary Study

Introduction:Hepcidin,a new discovered small size peptide,has been shown to play a key role in iron metabolism,and it is an important mediator in anemia associated with chronic diseases and hereditary hemochromatosis.Hepcidin is an acute phase protein,it is synthesized in the liver and binds to FN1,an iron transporter exists on the surface of macrophages and the basolateral of enterocytes,induces its internalization and degradation and interferes iron releasing from these cells to blood.Until recently,Hepcidin is mostly preferred in animal and cell culture study,few non-invasive sampling investigative tools were available to detect hepcidin in human clinical examinations because of the small size of Hepcidin.Beside bioactive hepcidin,the measurement of its precursor pro-hepcidin has been reported with the use of a commercially available ELISA kit that uses antibodies directed against the pro-peptide region of hepcidin.However,the diagnostic use of this assay is controversial because of the lack of clear correlations with hepcidin mRNA expression in human haptocytes.Objective:To analyze the correlations between serum pro-hepcidin concentrations and hepcidin mRNA expression in human haptocytes in a same patient.To confrim the correlations of serum pro-hepcidin concentrations and hepcidin bioactivity in vivo by statistically analyzing of the difference of serum pro-hepcidin levels in different iron store situtiation,such as liver cirrhosis with or without hepatocellular carcinoma,anima of chronic disease,iron deficiency anima and normal control.To study the changes of serum pro-hepcidin levels by monitoring the serum pro-hepcidin concentrations pre and post reperfusion treatments of acute myocardial infarction,To investigate if the serum pro-hepcidin levels were induced by reaction such as acute myocardial infarction.Design:We Compare the hepcidin and G3PDH mRNA ratio in liver samples of twenty-one patients,who were operated on for received transplants for cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma,by semi-Quantitative RT-PCR.Venous blood samples were collected from normal control,liver cirrhosis with or without hepatocellular carcinoma,anemia of chronic disease and iron deficiency anemia.Fifteen acute myocardial infarction patients' venous blood samples were collcted according to different time after the onset of attack.Serum samples were stored at -20℃for a short period of time.Tests were performed with Hepcidin Prohormone ELISA kits manufactured by DRG International Inc.Serum interleukin-6 assay was performed by commercially available ELISA kit.Clinical parameters were collected at the same time.The statistical analysis was performed on SPSS software using nonparametric tests and t tests.P less than.05 was considered significant.Results:In the patient group of liver cirrhosis with or without haptocellular carcinoma,serum pro-hepcidin concentrations were positively correlated with hepcidin mRNA levels.Serum pro-hepcidin concentrations were negatively correlated with Serum interleukin-6 and serum ferritin,and positively correlated with hemoglobin levels.Serum pro-hepcidin levels were significantly lower in ACD group than in healthy control group.Serum pro-hepcidin levels were significantly lower in liver cirrhosis with or without hepatocellular carcinoma group than in healthy control group.Serum pro-hepcidin levels have no dynamic change during sixty hours after the onset of attack in fifty patients of acute myocardial infarction during reperfusion.Conclusions:In the patient group of liver cihhrosis with or without haptocellular carcinoma,serum pro-hepcidin concentrations were positively correlated with hepcidin mRNA levelsSerum pro-hepcidin levels are a potential marker of liver dysfunction.In contrast to lower serum pro-hepcidin levels in ACD group,IDA in human are associated with increased pro-hepcidin levels,which makes serum pro-hepcidin a potential marker for differential diagnosis of ACD and IDA.The diagnostic use of this assay is controversial because of the lack of clear correlations with hepcidin bioactivity in vivo.