만성빈혈에서 pro-hepcidin의 유용성

Abstract

Background: Hepcidin is a recently discovered peptide made in ther liver, distributed in plasma and excreted in urine. The discovery of hepcidin has provided important insights into the pathogenesis of anemia of chronic disease. The aim of this study was to determine the serum levels of the prohormone form of hepcidin, pro-hepcidin, and its relations with iron status and its possible usefulness in the differential diagnosis of anemia of chronic disease.

Method: Fifteen patients with anemia of chronic disease(ACD), 10 patients with anemia of chronic disease with iron deficiency anemia(ACD + IDA), and 7 normal controls were included in the study. The blood levels of hemoglobin, serum ferritin, serum iron, total iron binding capacity and pro-hepcidin were measured. Serum pro-hepcidin concentration was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The pro-hepcidin level was compared with each other group. The correlations between laboratory parameters and the pro-hepcidin levels were investigated in each group.

Results : The pro-hepcidin level was significantly higher in ACD group (191.386 ± 186.257 ng/dl) than in normal controls (89.062 ± 11.766 ng/dl). No difference of the pro-hepcidin level was observed between ACD group and ACD + IDA group. Good inverse correlations were observed between pro-hepcidine and total iron binding capacity and hemoglobin in ACD group. There were no correlations between pro-hepcidin level and laboratory parameters in ACD + IDA group.

Conclusions : In our study, a inverse correlation was found between serum pro-hepcidin and hemoglobin levels in ACD group. The pro-hepcidin level was significantly higher in ACD group than in normal controls. However, serum pro-hepcidin level is not useful biomarker for differential diagnosis of ACD and ACD + IDA group.