Iron deficiency and hepcidin by laboratory diagnosis

Hepcidin is one of the fundamental factors for the regulation of iron in the blood circulation. The concentration level of hepcidin correlated to several various internal and external factors, such as hematological disorders, organic dysfunctions, inflammations in organs, pregnancies, hypoxia, and other various diseases that affect the regulation of hepcidin production. In addition, the regulation of hepcidin needs to be the same as other hematological component factors such as ferritin and iron concentration in circulation and storage sources. Moreover, for laboratory checking to find the concentration and normal ranges of hepcidin, several methods and techniques in recent years have been born. This review is targeted to indicate the concentration of hepcidin in different disease situations and conditions. The techniques which are used in the analysis of hepcidin are mass spectrometry (MS)-based assays (weak cation exchange time of flight [TOF] MS, surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization TOF MS), immunoassays based on antihepcidin antibodies, mass spectrometric assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and competitive ELISA. The results of this article indicated that specification of hepcidin concentration in the circulation of blood needs to have attention to other association factors such as clinical symptoms, types of diseases (neoplastic diseases, inflammation, and sepsis), sex, duration of time in collection specimens (morning or afternoon), and several other factors.