Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Quantitating Iron Transport Across the Mouse Placenta In Vivo Using Nonradioactive Iron Isotopes
Published on: May 10, 2022
Serum maternal hepcidin levels 3 days after delivery are higher compared to those measured at parturition
Béla Gyarmati1, Eszter Szabó, Balázs Szalay
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Uzsoki Hospital, Hungary.
Aim:
Our aim was to investigate the levels of hepcidin at parturition and 3 days after delivery and to relate hepcidin levels to parameters of iron homeostasis.
Materials And Methods:
We measured hepcidin levels with mass spectrometry in serum samples of 38 term pregnant women taken just prior to and 3 days after vaginal delivery (n = 23) or cesarean section (CS) (n = 15). Hepcidin levels were related to iron homeostasis parameters and interleukin (IL)-6 levels. Parameters measured before and after delivery were compared with the Wilcoxon test.
Results:
Serum iron levels (median, interquartile range) decreased (14.3, 9.6-21.1 vs. 8.9, 6.8-11.5 µmol/L, P < 0.01), while hepcidin levels increased (2.73, 2.2-3.45 vs. 10.62, 6.70-15.89 µg/L, P < 0.01) by the third day after parturition compared to those measured before delivery. IL-6 levels were comparable before and after delivery. No direct association between serum hepcidin and iron homeostasis parameters or IL-6 levels was found.
Conclusions:
Factors triggering hepcidin synthesis dominate 3 days after delivery. Studies are needed to assess the contribution of hepcidin to iron homeostasis during the periparturition period.
Related Concept Videos
Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
Jaundice
Transcytosis of IgG
IgG molecules from a mother undergo transcytosis starting around 13 weeks of gestation. The amount of IgG transferred and entering the fetal blood circulation increases with...
