Hyperferritinaemia: An Iron Sword of Autoimmunity

Ferritin is a molecule that plays many roles being the storage for iron, signalling molecule, and modulator of the immune response.

Different electronic databases were searched in a non-systematic way to find out the literature of interest.

The level of ferritin rises in many inflammatory conditions including autoimmune disorders. However, in four inflammatory diseases (i.e., adult-onset Still's diseases, macrophage activation syndrome, catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome, and sepsis), high levels of ferritin are observed suggesting it as a remarkable biomarker and pathological involvement in these diseases. Acting as an acute phase reactant, ferritin is also involved in the cytokine-associated modulator of the immune response as well as a regulator of cytokine synthesis and release which are responsible for the inflammatory storm.

This review article presents updated information on the role of ferritin in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases with an emphasis on hyperferritinaemic syndrome.