Hepsidin

a regulator of iron absorption and iron loss

Description
Hepsidin is produced by the liver; when iron stores (of ferritin and of hemosiderin) are full, it is released to circulation and affects enterocytes at the bottom of crypts in the small intestine. Hepsidin downregulates the iron transporters on the luminal surface of these enterocytes. In consequence, the iron bound to cytoplasmic ferritin of the enterocytes, instead of entering the blood circulation in association with transferrin, is eliminated from the body as the enterocytes are exfoliated and lost with the stool.