Source: eurekalert.org<\/p>\n\n\n\n
High levels of iron in the liver are linked to a number of serious \nhealth conditions including cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and \ncardiovascular as well as liver disease. But measuring liver iron is \ndifficult and until recently could only be done through an invasive \nbiopsy.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now researchers from University of Exeter, UK, together with \ncolleagues from the University of Westminster,London, UK, Lund \nUniversity, Sweden and Perspectum Diagnostics, Owford, UK, have shown \nthat genes regulating iron metabolism in the body are responsible for \nexcess liver iron. These genes are the driving cause of high levels of \niron in the liver in populations of European, especially Celtic, \nancestry, and suggest that this is most likely a systemic and not \norgan-related problem. This finding can point the way to simple \nstrategies for reducing the excess. The research is presented at the \nannual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today \n(Monday).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Hanieh Yaghootkar and colleagues carried out genome-wide \nassociation studies on liver iron content, measured via magnetic \nresonance imaging (MRI), in 8200 volunteers who had provided biological \nsamples to the UK Biobank. Genome-wide association studies work by \nscanning markers across the complete sets of DNA of large numbers of \npeople in order to find genetic variants associated with a particular \ncondition. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They found three independent genetic variants associated with \nhigher liver iron and involved in the production of hepcidin, a protein \nthat regulates the entry of iron into the blood. The results were \nvalidated in 1500 individuals whose data had been collected in the \npan-European Diabetes Research on Patient Stratification (DIRECT) \nConsortium. \u00abThis is the first time such a study has been carried out in\n an unselected, large population,\u00bb says Dr Yaghootkar. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigators used a genetic approach to explore the causal \nlink between higher waist-to-hip ratio and elevated liver iron content. \nThis provided genetic evidence that higher central (abdominal) obesity \nwas associated with increased liver iron levels. \u00ab There are animal \nstudies that indicate that fat cells trigger macrophages, a type of \nwhite blood cell, to cause inflammation, and that this in turn leads to \ndefective iron handling in the liver. We need to research this \nassociation further, but it is a plausible explanation of the \nphenomenon, \u00bb says Dr Yaghootkar.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fact that the mechanisms causing elevated liver iron were \ngeneralised and not organ-specific means that high iron levels probably \noccur in other organs too, including the brain. The researchers found an\n association between excess iron and many other disorders, including \nneuropsychiatric conditions. Because the clinical manifestations of \nelevated iron levels are so diverse, a multi-specialty approach will be \nneeded to assess and evaluate new therapies, including treating patients\n with hepcidin to reduce iron accumulation.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MRI is continuing for 100,000 individuals in the Biobank study. \u00ab\n This will allow us to find many more genetic factors associated with \nthis trait. We are also interested in performing such studies in other \nethnicities, since our current results are only valid for people of \nEuropean ancestry, \u00bb Dr Yaghootar will conclude.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chair of the ESHG conference, Professor Joris Veltman, Director \nof the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University, Newcastle \nupon Tyne, UK, said: “Iron overload is bad for the body and needs to be \ntightly regulated. The genetic study presented at the ESHG today reveals\n a key role for genes regulating iron metabolism, and also revealed a \nlink between certain types of obesity and iron overload.”\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Source: eurekalert.org High levels of iron in the liver are linked to a number of serious health conditions including cancer, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[257,294,269,298,297,296,293,53],"class_list":["post-148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heart-care","tag-cardiovascular","tag-causes","tag-genetic","tag-high-blood-pressure","tag-iron","tag-liver","tag-study","tag-treatment"],"yoast_head":"\n