Abstract
Iron is an essential biogenic element for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In humans iron is present in hundreds of different metalloproteins.
The peptide hormone hepcidin serves as a master regulator of iron homeostasis on the level of single cells and whole organism by altering cell surface expression of cellular iron exporter - protein ferroportin. Altered levels of extracellular hepcidin lead to pathological conditions such as hemochromatosis and iron loading or, on the other side, iron restrictive anemias.
Therapeutic modulation of hepcidin is a new and promising approach to treatment of these conditions. In this review, a summary of the current knowledge of hepcidin function, regulation and pathological involvements are provided, followed by a section covering the therapeutic potential of hepcidin and the current strategies how to modulate its levels and biological functions for therapeutic purposes.