Relationship between Serum pro-hepcidin Concentration and Body Iron Status in Female College Students

ABSTRACT

Hepcidin, a peptide hormone synthesized mainly by the liver, has been implicated as a key regulator of iron homeostasis. Results from studies with experimental animal models suggested that hepcidin levels are related with body iron status, but little data is available in human subjects. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between serum pro-hepcidin levels, blood indexes of anemia, and dietary iron intake in female college students. Serum pro-hepcidin concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in eighty-two women with 22.1 +/- 0.2 years old. Dietary intake data were collected by using the 24-hour recall method for 3 days. Mean concentrations of serum prohepcidin were 85.1 ng/ml +/- 6.1 (s.d.) with the range of 13.6 - 295.7 ng/ml. The median value of serum pro-hepcidin in the study subjects was 70.3 ng/ml. Serum pro-hepcidin concentrations were positively correlated with hemoglobin concentrations(r = 0.273, p = 0.013), and also with hematocrit (r = 0.291, p = 0.008). To examine whether the level of dietary iron intake affects serum pro-hepcidin levels, study subjects were divided into two groups according to the amounts of daily iron intake. Serum pro-hepcidin concentrations were 22% lower in groups with low iron intake ( 10.1 mg/day). In conclusion, these data, as in agreement with findings in mice, suggest that hepcidin plays an important role in regulating iron metabolism in the human body.