What is the role of ferritin in iron metabolism?

Ferritin serves as a critical component of iron homeostasis, as shown in Figure 2. Its’ primary role is in iron sequestration in which it functions as a ferroxidase, converting Fe(II) to Fe(III) as iron is internalized and sequestered in the ferritin mineral core.

What is the function of ferritin?

Ferritin is a ubiquitous protein found in all cells, where its principal function appears to be storage of iron. Ferritin concentrates cellular iron and protects cells from its toxic effects. Storage iron is sequestered in a hollow sphere composed of 24 ferritin subunits (7).

How is iron metabolized in the body?

Iron recycling and loss In contrast to iron uptake and recycling, there is no physiologic regulatory mechanism for excreting iron. People lose a small but steady amount by gastrointestinal blood loss, sweating and by shedding cells of the skin and the mucosal lining of the gastrointestinal tract.

How does ferritin get into the blood?

Ferritin is stored in the body’s cells until it’s time to make more red blood cells. The body will signal the cells to release ferritin. The ferritin then binds to another substance called transferrin. Transferrin is a protein that combines with ferritin to transport it to where new red blood cells are made.

What does ferritin level tell you?

Ferritin is a blood protein that contains iron. A ferritin test helps your doctor understand how much iron your body stores. If a ferritin test reveals that your blood ferritin level is lower than normal, it indicates your body’s iron stores are low and you have iron deficiency. As a result, you could be anemic.

What is a toxic ferritin level?

Many laboratories consider serum ferritin levels greater than 200 ng/mL in women and greater than 300 ng/mL in men to be abnormal. However, a large percentage of the general population has a serum ferritin level between 200 and 1,000 ng/mL.

What should my ferritin level be?

The normal range for ferritin in your blood serum is: 20 to 250 ng/mL for adult males. 10 to 120 ng/mL for adult females, 18 to 39 years. 12 to 263 ng/mL for females, 40 years and older.

How does hepcidin affect ferritin?

Ferritin stores iron, representing iron status. Hepcidin binds to ferroportin, thereby inhibiting iron absorption/efflux. Inflammation in CKD increases ferritin and hepcidin independent of iron status, which reduce iron availability.

How does iron convert to ferritin?

When the Fe(III) in the crystalline mineral is reduced to Fe(II), the iron becomes solvated and ferritin releases the solvated iron, Fe(H2O)62+, through the 3-fold polar channel. Hence, ferritin can control the amount of available iron in the body, preventing iron disorders like anemia and iron overload.

What ferritin level is too high?

What is a good ferritin level?

Results. The normal range for blood ferritin is: For men, 24 to 336 micrograms per liter. For women, 11 to 307 micrograms per liter.

Can stress affect ferritin levels?

In contrast, chronic inflammation and oxidative stress may act as a link between elevated serum-ferritin levels, which may contribute to cellular or tissue damage [10]. A previous study revealed that increased levels of serum-ferritin were associated with major depression in patients receiving chronic hemodialysis.

Where does the iron in ferritin come from?

Ferritin is a universal intracellular protein that stores iron and releases it in a controlled fashion. The protein is produced by almost all living organisms, including algae, bacteria, higher plants, and animals.

What causes a low ferritin reading on eclinpath?

Iron deficiency: A decrease in the amount of stored iron is the only known cause for a low serum ferritin result. This is the strong point of this test. However, in dogs or cats, serum ferritin values do not appear to correlate very well with non-heme iron stores in the liver.

How many subunits are in the protein ferritin?

Ferritin is a large protein shell (MW 450,000, apoferritin) comprised of 24 subunits, covering an iron core containing up to 4000 atoms of iron. Apoferritin with bound iron (=ferritin) is the storage form of iron in cells and most readily available for use when needed.

What is the role of ferritin in prokaryotes?

Ferritin is a globular protein complex consisting of 24 protein subunits forming a nanocage with multiple metal–protein interactions. It is the primary intracellular iron-storage protein in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, keeping iron in a soluble and non-toxic form.