Findings could lead to treatments for blood disorders
associated with both iron deficiencies and overloads
A UCLA research team has discovered a new hormone called
erythroferrone, which regulates the iron supply needed for red blood-cell
production.
Iron is an essential functional component of hemoglobin, the
molecule that transports oxygen throughout the body. Using a mouse model,
researchers found that erythroferrone is made by red blood-cell progenitors in
the bone marrow in order to match iron supply with the demands of red
blood-cell production. Erythroferrone is greatly increased when red blood-cell
production is stimulated, such as after bleeding or in response to anemia.