May 2005

Finding the function of fish ferroportin

Ferroportin is an iron-export protein. To understand the role of ferroportin function is very important since many naturally occurring mutations have been reported in the ferroportin protein leading to a human disorder of iron overload called type IV hemochromatosis. In a study appearing online on 5 May in advance of the print publication of the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Leonard Zon and colleagues provide the first detailed characterization of the adult phenotype of the ferroportin1-deficient, anemic zebrafish mutant, called weissherbst. The authors show that ferroportin 1 is necessary for normal iron cycling. The article provides evidence for conservation of function of ferroportin1 and establishes the zebrafish as a useful model organism for the study of hemochromatosis.

TITLE: Ferroportin 1 is required for normal iron cycling in zebrafish

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Leonard I. Zon
Children's Hospital, Karp Research Laboratories, Boston, MA USA
Phone: (617) 919-2069; Fax: (617) 730-0222; E-mail: [email protected]

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=23780