title: Contribution of Hfe expression in macrophages to the regulation of hepatic hepcidin levels and iron loading.
abstract: Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), an iron overload disease associated with mutations in the HFE gene, is characterized by increased intestinal iron absorption and consequent deposition of excess iron, primarily in the liver. Patients with HH and Hfe-deficient (Hfe-/-) mice manifest inappropriate expression of the iron absorption regulator hepcidin, a peptide hormone produced by the liver in response to iron loading. In this study, we investigated the contribution of Hfe expression in macrophages to the regulation of liver hepcidin levels and iron loading. We used bone marrow transplantation to generate wild-type (wt) and Hfe-/- mice chimeric for macrophage Hfe gene expression. Reconstitution of Hfe-deficient mice with wt bone marrow resulted in augmented capacity of the spleen to store iron and in significantly decreased liver iron loading, accompanied by a significant increase of hepatic hepcidin mRNA levels. Conversely, wt mice reconstituted with Hfe-deficient bone marrow had a diminished capacity to store iron in the spleen but no significant alterations of liver iron stores or hepcidin mRNA levels. Our results suggest that macrophage Hfe participates in the regulation of splenic and liver iron concentrations and liver hepcidin expression.
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche, CHUM-Hôpital Notre-Dame, Pav. De Sève Y5625, 1560 Sherbrooke est, Montréal, Québec H2L 4M1, Canada.
authors.forename: Hortence
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Makui
authors.forename: Ricardo J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Wenlei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Constante
authors.forename: Manuela M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D005260:Female; D000071020:Hemochromatosis Protein; D064451:Hepcidins; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism; D018183:Transplantation Chimera
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; C579599:Hamp protein, mouse; D000071020:Hemochromatosis Protein; D064451:Hepcidins; C499535:Hfe protein, mouse; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D007501:Iron