Erythroferrone
Erythroferrone, also known as ERFE, is the primary erythroid modulator (formation of RBC) of hepcidin. The erythroferrone hormone has its effect by controlling the primary iron hormone, hepcidin. Hepcidin is a homeostatic hormone that regulates the amount of iron in the plasma and the body. This hormone controls how much of the iron is absorbed and where it goes in the body. Hepcidin is inhibited by increased erythroferrone, enabling more iron to be made available to create red blood cells.
Erythroblasts are responsible for producing erythroferrone, suppressing the hepcidin formation in the liver. As a result, the quantity of iron available to synthesize hemoglobin increases. The chemical process known as iron metabolism is responsible for maintaining the human body’s homeostasis of iron both on a systemic and cellular level.
Researchers discovered that red blood cell progenitors in the bone marrow produce erythroferrone to balance the amount of iron available with the amount required to generate red blood cells. When there is a surge in the synthesis of red blood cells, there is also a significant rise in erythroferrone. On top of that, some research supports that erythroferrone supplementations can effectively treat both iron deficiency anemia and iron overload.
