Ferritin is a globular protein found mainly in the liver, which can store about 4500 iron (Fe³⁺)ions in a hollow protein shell made of 24 subunits. These are either of the light (L) or the heavy (H) type with a molecular weight of 19 kDA or 21 kDa respectively. Inside the ferritin shell, iron ions form crystallites together with phosphate and hydroxide ions. Hugo is a masculine name. ... The Entrez Global Query Cross-Database Search System allows access to databases at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. ... The Mendelian Inheritance in Man project is a database that catalogues all the known diseases with a genetic component, and - when possible - links them to the relevant genes in the human genome. ... The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the US National Library of Medicine (NLM), which is a branch of the US National Institutes of Health. ... Swiss-Prot is a curated biological database of protein sequences created in 1986 by Amos Bairoch during his PhD and developed by the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and the European Bioinformatics Institute. ... The Protein Data Bank (PDB) is a repository for 3-D structural data of proteins and nucleic acids. ... The Enzyme Commission number (EC number) is a numerical classification scheme for enzymes, based on the chemical reactions they catalyze. ... In biology and evolutionary computation, a locus is the position of a gene (or other significant sequence) on a chromosome. ... Chromosome 11 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. ... Hugo is a masculine name. ... The Entrez Global Query Cross-Database Search System allows access to databases at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. ... The Mendelian Inheritance in Man project is a database that catalogues all the known diseases with a genetic component, and - when possible - links them to the relevant genes in the human genome. ... The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the US National Library of Medicine (NLM), which is a branch of the US National Institutes of Health. ... Swiss-Prot is a curated biological database of protein sequences created in 1986 by Amos Bairoch during his PhD and developed by the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and the European Bioinformatics Institute. ... The Protein Data Bank (PDB) is a repository for 3-D structural data of proteins and nucleic acids. ... The Enzyme Commission number (EC number) is a numerical classification scheme for enzymes, based on the chemical reactions they catalyze. ... In biology and evolutionary computation, a locus is the position of a gene (or other significant sequence) on a chromosome. ... Chromosome 19 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. ... Hugo is a masculine name. ... The Entrez Global Query Cross-Database Search System allows access to databases at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. ... The Mendelian Inheritance in Man project is a database that catalogues all the known diseases with a genetic component, and - when possible - links them to the relevant genes in the human genome. ... The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the US National Library of Medicine (NLM), which is a branch of the US National Institutes of Health. ... Swiss-Prot is a curated biological database of protein sequences created in 1986 by Amos Bairoch during his PhD and developed by the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and the European Bioinformatics Institute. ... The Protein Data Bank (PDB) is a repository for 3-D structural data of proteins and nucleic acids. ... The Enzyme Commission number (EC number) is a numerical classification scheme for enzymes, based on the chemical reactions they catalyze. ... In biology and evolutionary computation, a locus is the position of a gene (or other significant sequence) on a chromosome. ... Chromosome 5 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... In inorganic chemistry, a phosphate is a salt of phosphoric acid. ... Hydroxide is a polyatomic ion consisting of oxygen and hydrogen: OH− It has a charge of −1. ...

Ferritin without iron is called apoferritin. Apoferritin combines with iron making ferritin.

Some ferritin complexes in vertebrates are hetero-oligomers of two highly-related gene products with slightly different physiological properties. The ratio of the two homologous proteins in the complex depends on the relative expression levels of the two genes.

Uses

Serum ferritin levels are measured in patients as part of the iron studies workup for anemia. The ferritin levels measured have a direct correlation with the total amount of iron stored in the body. If ferritin is high there is iron in excess, which would be excreted in the stool. If ferritin is low there is a risk for lack in iron which sooner or later could lead to anaemia. Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. ... This article discusses the medical condition. ... This article discusses the medical condition. ...

In the setting of anaemia, serum ferritin is the most sensitive lab test for iron deficiency anaemia.^[1] This article discusses the medical condition. ... The sensitivity of a binary classification test or algorithm, such as a blood test to determine if a person has a certain disease, or an automated system to detect faulty products in a factory, is a parameter that expresses something about the tests performance. ...

Ferritin is also used as a marker for iron overload disorders, such as haemochromatosis and porphyria in which the ferritin level may be abnormally raised. In medicine, iron overload disorders are diseases caused by the accumulation of iron in the body. ... Haemochromatosis, also spelled hemochromatosis, is a hereditary disease characterized by improper processing by the body of dietary iron which causes iron to accumulate in a number of body tissues, eventually causing organ dysfunction. ...

As ferritin is also an acute-phase reactant, it is often elevated in the course of disease. A normal C-reactive protein can be used to exclude elevated ferritin caused by acute phase reactions. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... C-reactive protein (CRP) is a plasma protein, an acute phase protein produced by the liver. ...

Free iron is toxic to cells, and the body has an elaborate set of protective mechanisms to bind iron in various tissue compartments. Within cells, iron is stored complexed to protein as ferritin or hemosiderin. Apoferritin binds to free ferrous iron and stores it in the ferric state. As ferritin accumulates within cells of the RE system, protein aggregates are formed as hemosiderin. Iron in ferritin or hemosiderin can be extracted for release by the RE cells although hemosiderin is less readily available. Under steady state conditions, the serum ferritin level correlates with total body iron stores; thus, the serum ferritin level is the most convenient laboratory test to estimate iron stores. Hemosiderin Image of a kidney viewed under a microscope. ...

Ferritin is also used in materials science as a precursor in making iron nanoparticles for carbon nanotube growth by chemical vapor deposition. 3D model of three types of single-walled carbon nanotubes. ... DC plasma (violet) enhances the growth of carbon nanotubes in this laboratory-scale PECVD apparatus. ...

Cardiology diagnostic test

Normal blood levels:

Male: 12-300ng/mL

Female: 12-150ng/mL

Cost: $US 85

How to lower/raise: avoid or eat foods rich in iron: eggs, liver, red meat, soy products

source: Beyond Cholesterol, Julius Torelli MD, 2005 ISBN 0-312-34863-0 p.84

References

1. ^ Guyatt G, Patterson C, Ali M, Singer J, Levine M, Turpie I, Meyer R (1990). "Diagnosis of iron-deficiency anemia in the elderly.". Am J Med 88 (3): 205-9. PMID 2178409.

See also

• Bacterioferritin