16

Iron is an essential element for the good functioning of the human body and requires careful maintenance of its homeostasis. This is mainly due to hepcidin, a hormone secreted by the liver that controls the flow of iron within the body. It has a hyposideremic action by reducing the expression of ferroportin, the only currently known protein that can export iron into the extracellular environment. This has the effect of decreasing intestinal absorption and increasing intracellular retention, especially in macrophages. Hepcidin is stimulated by a heightened level of iron and inflammation, while activation of erythropoiesis inhibits it. Understanding its regulation enables us to have a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of overload diseases and iron deficiency. Therefore, hepcidin analysis is interesting for exploring iron homeostasis. In combination with other biological parameters of iron status, it is possible to find better ways of managing iron metabolism diseases. As such, an assaying method that couples liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry has been implemented at Grenoble University Hospital and the analytical performances of this assay have met the laboratory requirements in terms of reliability of the analysis.