Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

Measurement of Tissue Non-Heme Iron Content using a Bathophenanthroline-Based Colorimetric Assay
Published on: January 31, 2022
High hepcidin level accounts for the nigral iron accumulation in acute peripheral iron intoxication rats
Chao Sun1, Ning Song, Anmu Xie
1Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Medial College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266003, China.
Abstract:
Hepcidin is considered to be a circulatory hormone and a major mechanism regulating iron homeostasis. Our previous publication revealed that acute iron intoxication induced iron deposit and dopaminergic neuron degeneration in the substantia nigra (SN) of a rat model. However, whether and how hepcidin functions in this nigral iron accumulation has not been elucidated. In the present study, we observed a decreased of FPN1 protein level in the SN triggered by peripheral iron overload within 4 h, which correlated with a high hepcidin level. To further investigate the role of intracellular hepcidin under iron overload circumstances, we assessed the expression of hepcidin mRNA and FPN1 protein in vitro. We observed that hepcidin mRNA level was up-regulated and FPN1 protein level was down-regulated in MES23.5 dopaminergic cells in a period of 4h incubation with iron. Both in pCMV-XL4-hepcidin transfected and hepcidin-treated cells, decreased FPN1 protein levels were observed. Our data provide direct evidence that the role for intracellular hepcidin generated in the SN is particularly relevant to restrict iron release by down-regulation FPN1 expression in this region, thus an important contributor to the abnormal iron deposit occurred at an early stage in conditions of peripheral iron intoxication.
Related Concept Videos
Hepatic Encephalopathy
Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Pathophysiologic Assessment and Liver Function Test
Necrosis
Morphological Manifestations of Necrosis
Necrotic cells show different types of morphological appearance depending on the type of tissue and infection. In coagulative necrosis, cells become anucleated and die, but their...
Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Drug Dosing and Hepatic Blood Flow
The Periodic Table and Organismal Elements
Drug Accumulation During Multiple Dosing: Intermittent IV Infusions

