Development and iron-dependent expression of hephaestin in different brain regions of rats

It has been suggested that Hephaestin (Heph), a newly discovered ceruloplasmin homologue, is necessary for iron egress from the enterocytes into circulation via interacting with ferroportin1 (FP1). Based on the putative function of Heph, and the similarity between the process of iron transport in the enterocytes and that in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) cells, it has also been proposed that Heph plays a similar role in exporting iron from the BBB cells and other brain cells as it works in the enterocytes via interacting with FP1. The existence of FP1 in the brain has been demonstrated. In this study, we investigated Heph expression and effects of development and iron in the cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and substantia nigra. The data demonstrated that all the four regions we examined have the ability to express Heph mRNA and protein. The findings also showed that both the development and iron status have a significant effect on Heph expression and the effects of iron status are regionally specific. It was also suggested that Heph expression is probably regulated at the transcriptional level by the development and iron in these brain regions. These findings, together with other published data, support a putative role of Heph in the iron metabolism in the brain.