Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Quantitating Iron Transport Across the Mouse Placenta In Vivo Using Nonradioactive Iron Isotopes
Published on: May 10, 2022
Iron absorption by healthy women is not associated with either serum or urinary prohepcidin
Kevin B Hadley1, LuAnn K Johnson, Janet R Hunt
1US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, ND 58202-9034, USA.
Background:
Although hepcidin is proposed as a regulator of iron absorption, this has not been assessed in humans.
Objective:
Our objective was to assess the relation between serum or urinary prohepcidin and iron absorption in healthy premenopausal women.
Design:
The subjects were 28 healthy women aged 22-51 y with normal hemoglobin concentrations (120-152 g/L). Absorption of 0.5 mg Fe with 0.2 microCi 59Fe tracer, both as FeSO4, was measured by whole-body scintillation counting 13 d after oral administration. Fasting blood and urine samples were collected the day of and 16 wk after the absorption measurement. Serum and urinary prohepcidin concentrations were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay by using an antibody against amino acid residues 28-47 of the proregion.
Results:
Mean (+/-SD) iron absorption was 36 +/- 19% (range: 4-81%), and serum ferritin (geometric x) was 27 microg/L (range: 4-122 microg/L), as commonly observed in healthy premenopausal women. Serum prohepcidin was 196 microg/L (range: 99-376 microg/L) and, in contrast with urinary prohepcidin, was relatively consistent for the women between 0 and 16 wk. Serum prohepcidin correlated directly with serum ferritin (R2 = 0.28, P < 0.01) but was unrelated to 59Fe absorption, in contrast to serum ferritin (R2 = 0.33, P < 0.01).
Conclusions:
Serum prohepcidin concentrations were relatively stable within subjects and correlated with serum ferritin. However, unlike serum ferritin, neither serum nor urinary prohepcidin concentrations were related to iron absorption in healthy women.
Related Concept Videos
Lifecycle of Erythrocytes
The resident phagocytic macrophages deal with these damaged cells by engulfing them and separating their globin and heme groups.
Drug Distribution: Plasma Protein Binding
Drug Absorption: Factors Affecting GI Absorption
In...
Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Drug Dosing and Hepatic Blood Flow
Factors Influencing Drug Absorption: Disease States and Pharmacology
Substances such as alcohol and specific drugs, including antineoplastics, can also negatively impact drug absorption. For instance,...
Hepatic Drug Clearance: Effect of Protein Binding
For low-extraction-ratio drugs that are less than 80% protein-bound, minor changes in protein binding...
