Relationships between hepcidin, interleukin-6 and parameters of iron metabolism in pregnant women

Abstract

Introduction. Iron homeostasis has been extensively studied in the recent years. The factors regulating hepcidin secretion and the significance of hepcidin during pregnancy have not been fully clarified. The objective of the study was to investigate the serum concentrations of hepcidin and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and their relationships to parameters of iron metabolism in women with low-risk and high-risk pregnancies. Material and methods. The study involved 40 pregnant women distributed in two groups: high-risk pregnancies (HRP, n=20) and low-risk pregnancies (LRP, n=20). The HRP were associated with chronic inflammatory disorders and reproductive failures. We evaluated the red blood cell count, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, hematocrit (Hct), erythrocyte indices, serum concentrations of hepcidin, IL-6, ferritin (Ferr) and iron (Fe), the total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and transferrin saturation (SatTf) twice, at the beginning of the second and third trimester of pregnancy. Results. We found significantly higher serum Ferr and lower TIBC in HRP than in the controls at the beginning of the second trimester (p<0.05). Significant decline in serum Ferr and rise in TIBC were observed during pregnancy in both groups, whereas decrease in SatTf was found only in LRP (p<0.05). In HRP, serum concentrations of IL-6 were negatively related to serum Fe and SatTf, and positively ‒ to Hb concentration, while serum hepcidin was negatively related to Hb concentration and Hct (p<0.05). A significant positive relationship between serum hepcidin and IL-6 was found in LRP (p=0.038). Conclusions. There are significant relationships between IL-6 and hepcidin production and parameters of iron metabolism in pregnancy.

Keywords

• hepcidin
• il-6
• iron homeostasis
• pregnant women