Serum hepcidin-20 is elevated during the acute phase of myocardial infarction.
Hepcidin, a key iron-regulator secreted from the liver, consists of 25 amino acids (hepcidin-25), blocks iron release from macrophages via internalization and degradation of cellular iron exporter ferroportin, and restrains the use of iron in organs. Hepcidin mRNA and protein are also expressed in the human heart. A short form of hepcidin that lacks 5 amino-acid residues in the N-terminus (hepcidin-20) has been found in human serum, although its physiological role is unknown. Here, we successfully measured the serum levels of hepcidin-25 and hepcidin-20 in 12 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) using surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. Among the selected 10 patients, whose blood samples were taken within 4 hours after a heart attack, all the patients showed elevated serum levels of hepcidin-20 [between 31.7 and 285.1 arbitrary unit (AU); normal level < 9.3 AU], while 8 patients showed high levels of hepcidin-25 (9.3-271.4; normal < 25.5 AU). The hepcidin-20 level was decreased to nearly the normal level on day 7 (range of 2.9 to 12.5 AU) in the 12 patients, whereas the hepcidin-25 level remained high on day 7 in 8 patients. Furthermore, the elevated levels of hepcidin-25 and hepcidin-20 were not correlated with the serum levels of markers for inflammation, interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein, in the patients with AMI. In conclusion, the serum hepcidin-20 is transiently elevated in response to acute cardiac ischemia. Measurement of serum hepcidin-20, rather than hepcidin-25, is helpful for diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.
Suzuki
Hiroshi
H
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Toba
Ken
K
Kato
Kiminori
K
Ozawa
Takuya
T
Tomosugi
Naohisa
N
Higuchi
Masato
M
Kusuyama
Taro
T
Iso
Yoshitaka
Y
Kobayashi
Naohiko
N
Yokoyama
Sin-ichiro
S
Fukuda
Noboru
N
Saitoh
Hideki
H
Akazawa
Kohei
K
Aizawa
Yoshifusa
Y
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D064451:Hepcidins; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood; D007328:Insulin / Q000737:chemistry; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000097:blood*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013997:Time Factors
D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D015415:Biomarkers; C578702:HAMP protein, human; D064451:Hepcidins; D007328:Insulin; D015850:Interleukin-6; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C542573:hepcidin (6-25), human; D004921:Erythropoietin; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D003402:Creatine Kinase