title: Iron homeostasis and inherited iron overload disorders: an overview.
abstract: Iron is an ubiquitous metal of vital importance to the normal physiologic processes of many organisms. Recent discoveries of mutations in genes that lead to inherited iron overload diseases have advanced the understanding of iron homeostasis in humans. This article provides an overview of the human iron cycle, regulation of iron homeostasis, how perturbations in this homeostasis lead to iron overload disease in adults and children, and strategies for diagnosis of inherited iron overload.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, USA. matthew.heeney@childrens.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Matthew M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Heeney
authors.forename: Nancy C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Andrews
mesh_terms: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D001692:Biological Transport; D064451:Hepcidins; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D019190:Iron Overload / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D064451:Hepcidins; D007501:Iron