Iron Homeostasis Research Paper

Iron is an essential element for the human body and must be obtained from our diet. The concentration of iron in our body is low compared to the abundance in the environment. The average human body can store up 3-4 mg of iron depending on gender. Women need more iron in their nutrition than male because of the loss of blood through menstruation and childbirth. Iron quantity in our body is relatively small because an excess of it can damage our tissues; therefore, iron homeostasis is crucial in our body. Iron is regulated in the human cell in order to avoid damaging the human cell and tissues, and to make up for it being lost through the shredding of the epithelium cell. Iron is needed for several functions in the body. It acts as a cofactor

Iron is used for several different activities in our body. It can be stored in the liver, bone marrow, and used by hemoglobin. It is also absorbed by part of the small intestinal called the duodenum. Iron exhibits two forms in our body, ferrous Fe2+ or ferric Fe3+, depending on what part of your body it is used in. When iron is absorbed by the duodenum it is taken to the lumen apical. In the lumen, iron is ferric (Fe3+) and needs to be reduced to ferrous (Fe2+) to cross the plasma membrane. On the surface of the membrane, ferric iron (Fe3+) is converted to ferrous by ferric reductase. The symporter called Divalent-metal transports Fe2+ with protons into the cell. Iron is transported into the cell by active transport. When ferrous enters the epithelium some irons are converted to Fe3+ which are stored in the cell at the mucosal ferritin and lost by shredding of epithelium cell. Some iron is used in the mitochondria in the electron transport chain. The rest of the iron is transported out of the epithelium cell into the blood by the ferroportin and immediately converted from Fe2+ to Fe3+ by the Hephaestin. As iron gets into the blood it is bound to the transferrin and transported to various parts of the

Iron is part of the heme in the hemoglobin found in the red blood cell. Heme can be recycled after the red cell has died. Iron is regulated by the live, therefore, excess of iron storage in the liver can also trigger a negative feedback in the epithelium cell. when the liver stores enough iron it releases a Hepcidin. Hepcidin inhibits the ferroportin from release any more iron into the blood circulation. Hepcidin is the major regulator of iron in the human body. Iron can also be used in the mitochondria in the synthesis of iron-sulfur cluster and heme. Heme in the mitochondria is found in the cytochrome used in the electron transport chain. Iron also place a role in the cofactor of an enzymatic reaction in the central nervous