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Monday, September 12, 2005Haem iron [found in meat - ed.] is absorbed around five times more efficiently than inorganic iron [found in vegatables and iron pills - ed] - this is why eating red meat is recommended for preventing anaemia. But until now the way in which haem iron was taken up in the gut had been unknown. By studying mice with anaemia, the King's team has identified a transporter protein, called HCP1, which appears to solve the riddle. They found the protein was active in the first part of the intestine, the duodenum, and that it shifted position within the intestinal cells in response to changes in the body's iron stores, allowing cells to take up more, or less, haem as required. Lead researcher Dr Andrew McKie said: 'Currently pregnant women suffering from anaemia are given supplements of inorganic iron, but these are poorly absorbed and poorly tolerated. 'Having identified the haem transporter, we can now generate synthetic analogs of haem iron, which would be more readily absorbed.' The breakthrough also holds out promise of a treatment for haemochromatosis, a hereditary genetic disorder that causes people to absorb too much iron from the diet. The protein they discovered was in mice. It remains to be seen whether people are designed the same way. posted by Sydney on 9/12/2005 07:56:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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