Research Update on Iron Metabolism and Its Regulation Mechanisms

Abstract

Iron metabolism disorder is an important public health problem both in the United States and developing world. Iron deficiency cases are over 2 billion worldwide. In theU.S., 9 million people are iron deficient and 1 million are at genetic risk of iron overload. Recent advances in research on iron-related diseases, coupled with new insights into the molecular mechanisms for iron metabolism, have strengthened our understanding of iron metabolism and iron disorder and have the potential to improve clinical and laboratory assessments of patients. In this article, I aim to provide a brief summary of recent developments in the molecular mechanisms underlying iron metabolism.