[Serum hepcidin assay in 2011: where do we stand?].
The characterization of hepcidin and of its role in iron metabolism in 2001 has entirely modified our understanding of the pathogenesis of iron-linked disorders. Clinical applications related to hepcidin are numerous, and involve iron-overload diseases, anemia, renal disease, chronic inflammation or cancer. Thus, new avenues have emerged from the discovery of this 25 amino acid peptide and numerous diagnostic and therapeutic tools have been developed and described in the past 10 years. In particular, various methods for accurate quantification of hepcidin in urine and serum have been published but development of a reliable assay is quite a challenging task because, in particular, of inherent properties of the peptide's structure and its low immunogenicity. Thus, the different methods described so far show high variability, in terms of quantitative value of hepcidin measured, specificity and sensitivity. Comparison of these methods has been recently described in a "Round Robin" study, in order to harmonise hepcidin assays and to improve and standardise the available detection/quantification tests. This article focuses on the molecular mechanisms of hepcidin regulation and reviews the various methods of hepcidin quantification, describing the advantages and limitations of each one of them.
INSERM U773, Centre de recherche biomédicale Bichat Beaujon CRB3, Université Paris Diderot Paris 7, UFR de Médecine site Bichat, Paris, France.
Constance
C
Delaby
Carole
C
Beaumont
D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000652:urine; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004920:Erythropoiesis; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D064451:Hepcidins; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood; D019189:Iron Metabolism Disorders / Q000097:blood; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics
D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; C578702:HAMP protein, human; D064451:Hepcidins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; C504318:TMPRSS6 protein, human