The Measurement of Serum Transferrin Receptor

Noninvasive measurement of iron: report of an NIDDK workshop

“…The workshop concluded that physicians have a pressing clinical need for quantitative means of measuring body storage iron that are noninvasive, safe, accurate, and readily available to improve the diagnosis and management of patients with iron overload, including those with hereditary hemochromatosis, thalassemia major, sickle cell disease, 4,8 aplastic anemia, myelodysplasia, and other disorders. Priorities in clinical research in iron overload were identified as (1) developing, calibrating, and validating new methods or modifications of current methods for quantitative measurement of tissue storage iron that are noninvasive, safe, accurate, and readily available for clinical use; (2) examining the relationship between total iron burden and manifestations of iron toxicity in different forms of iron overload-for example, hereditary hemochromatosis and transfusional iron overload in thalassemia major, sickle cell disease, aplastic and myelodysplastic anemias; (3) assessing the value of noninvasive measurements of hepatic iron in guiding iron-chelating therapy in transfusional iron overload in patients with thalassemia major, sickle cell disease, aplastic anemia, and myelodysplastic anemia and in identifying patients who would benefit from phlebotomy therapy among those found to be at genetic risk for hereditary hemochromatosis; and (4) determining the relationships between the iron concentration in specific tissues and damage to the heart, liver, pancreas, other endocrine organs, and joints in different forms of iron overload-for example, in hereditary hemochromatosis and in transfusional iron overload with thalassemia major, sickle cell disease, and aplastic and myelodysplastic anemias.…”

Iron regulatory protein 2 and anemia

“…2 B-Raf, unlike Raf-1, can be activated by the small G protein Rap1, 3 and Rap1/BRaf signaling to ERKs has been implicated in this sustained activation of ERKs and differentiation by TPO. 2,4 These studies establish that B-Raf and Raf-1 appear to have lineage-specific functions. Recent studies demonstrate that Raf-1 is required for erythropoiesis, 5 but not megakaryopoiesis.…”

Influence of mild infections on iron status parameters in women of reproductive age

“…The good reliability of TFR over time and during infections (7,20) and other in ammatory conditions (8) makes this test an attractive tool in the diagnosis of iron de ciency. Further studies on the utility of the test in primary care populations are needed before routine use can be recommended to general practitioners.…”

“…S-iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and s-transferrin saturation (TFsat) decrease, while s-ferritin and erythrocyte protoporphyrin (E-PPIX) rise (3,5,6). Stransferrin receptor (TFR) is a promising novel marker in the evaluation of iron status, especially because it is not an acute phase reactant (7,8).…”