Hepcidin-25 (human)

Hepcidin-25 (hepatic bactericidal protein), also referred to as LEAP-1 (liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide) has been independently discovered by two groups in human blood ultrafiltrate and urine. The peptide which is predominantly expressed in the liver, belongs to a new vertebrate family of small antimicrobial peptides that contain 8 cysteine residues and show significant antibacterial and antifungal activity. Further investigations revealed that hepicidin is the principal iron-regulatory hormone in humans. Hepcidin acts by binding to the iron exporter ferroportin, inducing its internalization and degradation, thereby blocking cellular iron efflux. Nemeth et al. demonstrated that the N-terminal part of the peptide hormone is essential for its activity. Former CAS-number 342790-21-0.