Role of the liver in iron metabolism – histochemical iron identification

Željezo je potrebno za osnovno funkcioniranje svih stanica u organizmu sisavaca, ali posebnu važnost ima u stanicama koje proizvode hemoglobin i mioglobin. Sisavci primaju željezo isključivo putem prehrane. Apsorpcija željeza se odvija u proksimalnom dijelu tankog crijeva. Jetra ima veliki kapacitet za pohranu suvišnog željeza. Također ima i regulatornu ulogu u metabolizmu željeza. Specijalizirani makrofazi odstranjuju stare eritrocite iz cirkulacije te imaju ulogu u recikliranju željeza. Hepcidin ima središnju ulogu u regulaciji homeostaze željeza. Postoji nekoliko poremećaja povezanih sa defektnim metabolizmom željeza, npr. hereditarna hemokromatoza, aceruloplazminemija i druge. Postoji nekoliko histokemijskih metoda za dokazivanje željeza u stanicama, a najčešća je Perlova metoda.Iron is necessary for the basal functioning of all mammalian cells but is particularly important in cells producing hemoglobin and myoglobin. Mammals obtain iron exclusively from the diet. Iron absorption takes place in the proximal small intestine. Liver has a large capacity to store excess iron. It also plays regulatory role in iron metabolism. Specialized macrophages remove effete red cells from circulation for iron recycling. Hepcidin is the key regulator in iron homeostasis. There are several disorders attached to defect iron metabolism, e.g. hereditary hemochromatosis, aceruloplasminemia e.t.c. There are several histochemical methods for cellular iron detection and the most common method is Perl's method